


Lost•Time•Memory《KuzuPeko》

by BakaMatsuNo



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Dangan Ronpa 3 Spoilers, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, F/M, Multi, Other, Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 19:16:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 36,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9562844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BakaMatsuNo/pseuds/BakaMatsuNo
Summary: 《We feel more secure to keep our deepest thoughts and feelings for ourselves,but regret grows once the persons dear to us 'dissapear'.》After have defeated the Ultimate Despai and deleted every possible trace of Junko Enoshima, the five survivors are brought back to the real world without any drawbacks or any unexpected event.Besides the fact they land on the real Jabberwock Island.Not only that, their comraddes are closed up in pods on this same island.With (or without) the help of Future Foundation, Hajime and the four others will do their best to wake them up from their commatoses and reign Hope on Earth.Hopefully./!\Late update, lots of cringe and bad grammar/!\





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heeeyaaa~
> 
> Here is my very first fanfic about DR on AO3-!  
> I hope you'll enjoy it as muh as I enjoy writing it~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A typical school day at Hope's Peak Academy and at the Kuzuryuu house

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyaa~
> 
> I got to fix that awful problem(hopefully)  
> I hope you'll enjoy this story as muh as I do enjoy writing it~
> 
> Please tell me in the comments if it's okay or if the chapter still won't show up ;)

 

Once upon a time,a lonely child,running through the abandonned streets of Japan.  
The lonely child was hunting for supplies to keep themselve alive.Much to their unpleasement,the lonely child had no choice but to taint their name by stealing in shops or pickpocket in bags of passing people.

The lonely child had no place to stay,nor did the lonely child have relatives.The child's parents were still alife,living peacefully in their residence,but the child didn't know that.It simply spent their days outside,watching people pass by,and from time to time,they'd hang out with them,without being aware of the danger that'd lead.  
  
Thankfully,the child never countered any problems with the elders she followed for a day or two.It was heartfully helped and held in distance from the 'bad persons'.That is how the child mainly survived.  
  
One day,the Kuzuryuu clan were into a business fight against other unnamed yakuzas,fight that ended into a genocide applied by the clan itself.The genocide had conveniently happened in the lonely child's district.  
  
Eventually,not only the ennemies were eleminated,but the inhabitants of the district were killed as well,some mistaken for the yazukas aimed.Fortunately,the lonely child was spared,and later on taken away by the head of the clan.  
  
The child and the head of the clan,Mr. Kuzuryuu had a little chat with the child,elders and other important members of the clan.The clan had made a pact with the child:the homeless child was given safety,a roof and food.In exchange,the small child had the duty to protect the heir,the future head of the clan;Kuzuryuu Fuyuhiko.  
  
"From now on,you shall be called Peko Pekoyama,the heir's weapon,willing to give up her life for him at any time.Any overtraded rule will gain you suitable punishments.Peko Pekoyama isn't allowed to leave the heir's side,no matter the situation"

* * *

Peko Pekoyama is woken up by the weak light peeking from the windows in her room.She sits up in her bed and immediatly checks the alarm clock,fortunately,she woke up before that the annoying beeping of the alarm clock could.  
  
Peko permits herself to stretch out her arms and legs,and then released a sigh.Relucantly,she moves her legs to the edge of the bed adn easilly gets up.When she walks away from her bed,she grabs her glasses,laying on the nighttable,in the process.  
  
Peko pulls her wardrobe open.It's a small wallmounted wardrobe,and she couldn't ask for any much.Her wardrobe doesn't contain much varity of clothes,but it still looks overwhelming with clothes because of how small it is.  
  
She immediatly pulls out her school uniform and slips into them.Once dressed,she places her glasses on her nose and reaches out for her hairbands.She quietly braids her hair after have separated them in two parts and held them up in sidetails with rubans.  
  
Peko is finally done and can exit her room to join the other inhabitants of the place for breakfast.She slips her feet into a pair of thightheitght stockings and slide the door of her room open,then carefully closes it after being out of the room.  
  
In silence,she strotts through the hallway and makes her way to the dining room.On her walk in the hallway,she crosses ways with other members of the gang staying at the Kuzuryuu compound.Keeping her casuality and good image,she politely nods when greeted by the others.  
  
That way of greeting is only applied to the members of the clan who sit in a comparable,same level as her in the clan.When adressed to by important members of the clan,she has to bow,when adressed by lower levels as her,she's allowed to react or simply ignore the greeting.  
  
Peko is an already important member of the clan,as a human chield for the future head of the clan is a necessity.There are much people Peko can ignore and snob,but despite what her cold intonation and peering crimson red eyes could give away,she's not that type of person and is very kind-hearted.

The door to the dining room is already wide open,so Peko simply passes through and salutes whoever is inside the room.Of course,the lower levels are already in the dining room,the importants are allowed to take their time,and they'd obviously make use of it.  
  
Peko sits at her assigned seat,and stares off in the non existence.Peko doesn't have any social links with the other members as she 'ever gets time or any opportunity to talk,not that that's an issue,though.  
In fact,Peko never held a conversation with any member of the clan that doesn't include the clan's business and serious matters.  
  
There's only one person in the estate who Peko ever had a normal conversation with;her 'young master',Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu.It's only because both are current classmates that both happen to hold discussions around random topics,mainly about school or the clan's business.In fact,Peko and Fuyuhiko seldom talk about anything else.  
  
Peko also happens to exchange a word or five with his younger sister Natsumi.But their conversations often go anywhere.Most of the time,it's Natsumi who goes purposely annoy Peko,but it happens that she's requested or that she has no other choice than to go talk directly to her.  
  
Peko wouldn't show she doesn't like Natsumi,in contrary to Natsumi who openly expresses her hate towards the woman.Despite everyone's curiousity,no one ever asked Natsumi why this sudden hate,and it gladly plays in her honor,because being the child she is,Natsumi would never openly announce her jealousy towards Peko.  
  
And despite how smart she could be,Peko has no absolute clue her hate is fed by pure jealousy,even though her used words are big hints leading to that.But again,no one in the Kuzuryuu house suspects that,or simply don't care.  
  
Everyone at table is silent and patiently awaits the current head of the clan and his relatives.In the meantime,the table was already done,but no one touches the food yet.You'd better not want to touch the food without permission from the Chef if your reflexes aren't developped enough to dodge whatever shall be thrown at you.  
  
It's considered as impolite to touch the food before everyone is present,but you aren't allowed to eat if the head of the clan doesn't tell you so.Peko has amazing reflexes and could dodge whatever you'd throw at her,and despite the loud grumbling coming from her stomach,she stays immobile and keeps looking away of the food,in fear of being more tempted and break a rule.  
  
After all,it just means a single error to be sent out of the estate back in the smelly streets she used to call 'home' a long time ago.  
  
Footsteps approached the room and catches everyone in the room's attention.Everyone looks up towards the entrance of the room,and behind the wall appeared a woman,Mrs.Kuzuryuu.  
The woman enters the room with swift footsteps and barely makes eyecontact with the people in the room.  
  
She casually walks through the whole room and stops behind a certain chair,before pulling it out and falling into it.When she sits on the fancy chair,she lets out a sigh.Her head lazily hangs back."Ugh,I had to get up because of my stomach crying out for food.But of course,that idiot won't get his lazy ass up..."she complains.  
  
"I hate that,seriously.Why do I even have to fucking wait for his permission to eat?He's not my dad,damn it!"she growls,her head turned towards Peko who only dares to look at her from the corner of her eyes.  
"So,had a good night?"To make her hunger pass by,she'd usually adress Peko and ask her normal questions like the one she just asked.It's not like she even cared for her answer.  
  
Peko turns her head and nods,Mrs.Kuzuryuu turns her head away while replying with a faint "Good."that Peko still manages to hear.Later on,other footsteps resonate through the hallway and approach the dining room.Meanwhile,you could hear Mrs.Kuzuryuu curses her husband under her breath.

Unfortunately,the sound of footsteps gave everyone false hope as soon as the Kuzuryuu siblings step inside.Everyone in the room awfully want to let out annoyed growls,but everyone shut up instead in form of respect.Well,everyone besides their mother.  
  
"Hasn't he come out of his room yet?"she asks,her head still hanging backwards.  
"Still snoring."Natsumi answers,her hand on her hip.She doesn't make any eyecontact with anyone and simply sits at her resigned seat,so does Fuyuhiko.  
"Oh my God,he better not take too long anymore.I'm starving here...!"Mrs.Kuzuryuu's statement's then followed by several grumblings coming from many people in the room.

* * *

 

Twenty minutes easily pass by since Fuyuhiko and Natsumi arrived,and there's still no sign of life of Mr Kuzuryuu.Concern soon overcomes people in the room,even though it's typical for him to wake up so late.But then again,Fuyuhiko,Natsumi and Peko need to eat breakfast before going off to school.  
  
Not much happened while the twenty minutes that passed,except that Mrs. Kuzuryuu kept switching positions and insulting her husband under her breath.Peko's eyebrow twitches from impatience,Fuyuhiko taps his fingers on the table and Natsumi's head collapsed on the table a minute or so ago.  
  
The scene keeps on like that and the silence is heavy in the diner room,until Mrs. Kuzuryuu's beaming voice makes everyone jolt of surprise.She slams her hand on the table,causing the glasses,knives and spoons to tremble."I'm done waiting,dammit!With that said,she reaches out to the fruit basket and pulls out an apple.  
  
But as soon as she appraches the fruit to her open mouth,an object comes flying by and gets stuck in the wall right behind her.There's no need to describe you what object I'm talking about,right?

Everyone's attention turns to where the knife came from and all witness the long awaited Mr. Kuzuryuu.He's leaning against the doorframe,a pocket knife twirling around his index finger and a hole with faint smoke coming out from it in the doorframe.  
  
Before anyone besides the two realise it,Mrs. Kuzuryuu is holding a small gun in her free hand,pointed at Mr Kuzuryuu's spot and wearing an interesting expression,while her husband's 's blank and emotionless.No one heard the sound of a shooting gun,nor does anyone react to the current situation.After all,in this place resides yakuzas from Japan and even abroad.What happens right now is nothing strange in a yakuza family.  
  
"I didn't give you the permission to eat,wife."he speaks up,still twirling with the knife.  
"You're waking up late as usual,husband.Are you trying to make us starve to death or what?"she delinquant-alike grimaces.  
Mr. Kuzuryuu takes his first steps inside the room after have stopped twirling the knife around his finger and geting up straight.He doesn't break eyecontact with her as he walks closer.

He finally stops his steps near her,then throws himself at her,only to stabilize himself with the knife plugged into the back of her chair."You've got some nerve to respond to me,woman."he smriks.Mrs. Kuzuryuu easily gets into the ambiance and smirks as well,though her smirk shows more malice and evilness than his.His smirk mostly looked like a cringe,like someone who'd never smile forced themselve to show a smile.He could possibly be trying to smile,because never is he seen smiling,only smirking.But like said,that smirk can also be a simple smile.  
  
She places the cold fabric of the gun on her husband's neck and rests her finger on the trigger,ready to shot him down at any moment.Both deeply stare into each other's eyes,not letting go of their weapon."Strange,this is exactly what happened in my dream last night."she announces,furrowing her eyebrows.As he grows more interested,he uncousciously inches closer to her.  
  
"And what happens after,then?"he questions,furrowing his eyebrows as well.  
"Shall I demonstrate you?"she replies,perking her eyebrows up,her eyes piercing into his.Awkwardness soon fills the room.Everyone rather stay quiet and avoid looking at the two making a scene,and concentrate on their stomachs going wild and in need of food.  
  
"Oh my God,get a room and make out already!"Natsumi growls,annoyance and embarassement obvious in her voice.  
"Dad,can we eat now?We'll be late for school."Fuyuhiko calmly asks,obviously making his best to not snap at the ridiculous scene,that he doesn't even understand why it's even happening and honestly doesn't want to know either.  
  
Mr Kuzuryuu sighs and pushes himself up from above his wife,pulling the knife out of the chair in the process.He calmly walks to his chair and plops on it.He lays the knife on the table and faces everyone with his usual stoic face,as if nothing of what happened earlier even happened.  
  
"Breakfast begins,you're allowed to eat."he announces before launching himself to the basket containing pastries.Everyone at the table stuffs their face with all the food on the tabel,and the table is soon empty.Everyone had a tasty breakfast and they can all go off to their own business.  
  
After Mr.Kuzuryuu's permission to leave the table,Fuyuhiko is the first to jump of his chair and walk stiffened to his room.Soon after,the two other teenagers follow the movement and head to their room as well,leaving only the adults in the dining room.

* * *

 

Peko has not much left to do anymore because her bag is already done and she's already dressed,compared to Natsumi and Fuyuhiko who came to the dining room in their pajamas.Peko calmly sits on her bed and picks up her phone.She only checks the time before leaving it in her bag and getting up.Usually,she'd have more time to rest before departing for school,but Mr.Kuzuryuu woke up later than he usually does.  
  
Peko stretches out one last time as she gets up from her bed.She immediatly walks to a certain corner of her room,where a certain item rests everyday.She picks up her bamboo sword and the bag resting next to it,and with a swift move,she slips her sword into the sword container.She then stretches the cord and carefully throws the bag containing her sword on her back.Before she leaves her room,she picks up her bag.  
  
Again,she strotts through the hallway and aims for the entrance hall,where everyone's shoes rest.There,she only finds three yakuzas of the clan hanging around and chatting about who knows what,but no important members is to be seen yet.She still bends down and picks up her shoes to correctly place them and insert her foot in each shoe matching the foot form.  
  
And conveniently,the Kuzuryuu siblings arrive when Peko has her shoes on.Like Peko did,both quickly pick up their pair and slips them on.One of the three yakuzas opens the door and greets the three teenagers goodbye and closes the door again when they are out.

From there,the three teenagers travel to school.Like usual,The three walk in a line with Fuyuhiko in the middle,he'd rather ignore Natsumi's chattering and pay more attention to Peko,wich causes Natsumi to sulk and be uselessly left behind.Fuyuhiko doesn't pay more attention to Peko per affection,but rather to not listen to his little sister's annoying bickering.  
  
Soon,they arrive at the park.The park separates both the Reserve Course and Main Course,the distance from there to both school buildings are exactly the same,so the three always pass by this park to go to school.As they walk in the park,no words are exchanged.Only a sigh escape the boy's mouth,rather a growl.Fuyuhiko merely turns his head towards Natsumi.  
  
"Natsumi,leave.You'll be late for your first lesson."Fuyuhiko remains calm.  
"Ugh,busted."Natsumi curses under her breath,though Fuyuhiko clearly heard the curses."Okay,gotta show those untalented losers who rules."Natsumi pushes her hair back with the back of her hand,wearing a snoby smirk.  
With a blank expression and his eyebrow slightly twitching,Fuyuhiko replies"Just go."  
  
"Young master,we should also depart."Peko informs Fuyuhiko that intensly glares at Natsumi.He rather don't be late at school,but he isn't about to leave as long as his sister doesn't.Eventually,Natsumi leaves with no effort and Fuyuhiko is ready to turn around and go to school.  
When they turn around and take their first steps out of the park,Fuyuhiko sighs."Does that kid really need to follow me anywhere I go?"  
  
"It's your little sister.Of course she wants to stay close to you,young master."Peko explains,not awaiting any specific answer,but knows she will get one anyway.  
"I don't need to see her damn face 24/7.I already see her at home,I think it's enough."Fuyuhiko complains,obviously not looking forward to his sister entering the Main Course,wich probably won't happen because of the lack of places available.  
  
"Now that I think about it,how come she landed in the Reserve Course?"Peko questions,rather curioud about the answer.  
"She may be my sister,she has no talent whatsoever."Fuyuhiko crosses his arms."Plus,she sucks at her studies.She's not going to enter Hope's Peak Main Course so easily."he shrugs.Peko hesitates a bit before speaking up,she slightly frowns."...You should be a bit more supportive,young master."  
"Nowhere in hell I'll support her to enter the Main Course."Fuyuhiko huffs."She won't make it in the Main Course."  
  
Peko's opinion is completely the opposite of Fuyuhiko's,but she tries to understand his nonetheless.After all,Peko is an only child,so she doesn't know why Fuyuhiko thinks like that.The two siblings are often into fights,but deep down,siblings still care for each other.Peko rather stays silent than irritate Fuyuhiko even more.

* * *

 

Fuyuhiko and Peko walk into the front schoolcourt of Hope's Peak Academy.The school is being lively as usual,no wonder in a school full of different crazy and colorful ultimates.Various insults from diverse conversations come from here and there,a certain classmate of them is going from girl to girl to ask them to do nasty tasks,there's a girl doing crazy tricks on the roof of the school and there's smoke coming from one certain room,the man's bathroom on the second floor.Thankfully,there are no dirty smells.  
  
Fuyuhiko casually walks in,his hands poured in his pockets,while Peko walks like a guard next to him.Both zone off and let their gaze wander around.  
Until both hear a familiar voice yell in the distance.Both have the same reaction,take more distance.Peko finds a nice spot to sit on and pretends to be checking on her sword,while Fuyuhiko pretends to be zoning off at the other side of the school.  
And the lucky one this time is Peko.  
  
Ibuki comes running to Fuyuhiko and waves all the way to him until she stops right next to him."Gooood nom-nom-morniiing,Fuyuhiko-san~!"Fuyuhiko already regrets having even woken up today.  
Ibuki places her hand before her forehead and glances from left to right with a round mouth.Meanwhile,Fuyuhiko pretends that she's not here and keeps his eyes closed.  
  
"Oya oya~...Ibuki can't see Peko anywhere...!Is she sick?"she keeps glaring around,Peko is nowhere to be seen from her spot,but Ibuki can see everything."Oh,I see her,I see her!"She calms down and puts a finger on her lip."But why aren't you together?Hmm..."  
Fuyuhiko doesn't reply,he keeps pretending that Ibuki doesn't exist."Are you two into a fight?Did she lie to you?Or maybe Peko-san is on her period?"She crosses her arms in wonder."Hmm,I wonder..."

Ibuki stays silent for a brief moment,deep into her thoughts.She uncousciously taps with her index finger while thinking of a good reason why two persons that are always stuck together,are separated all of a sudden.Surprised of the sudden silence,Fuyuhiko discretly opens an eye to check on her,she unfortunately is still here.  
Ibuki carefully opens one eye and glares at Fuyuhiko,who closed his eye again.  
  
"Could it be..."she cautiously begins.She innocently looks at Fuyuhiko with a finger up."...that you cheated on Peko-san?"  
Fuyuhiko's eyes fly open and he jolts of surprise.Eventually,he even lets out a high-pitched shriek."Wh-What the fuck are you saying?!Peko and I are nothing like that!"he roars,his hands curled into tight fists.  
"Oh..."Ibuki looks down,a bit ashamed."Then it's the other way around?"she wonders,she looks up at the sky and draws circles with her finger.  
  
"Hey,bitch!Didn't you hear what I just said?!Fuyuhiko fumes,his shouting is noticed by a few students.Thankfully,they don't know him,Peko or Ibuki.Maybe they know Ibuki,but those persons aren't from his entourage."And what are you trying to say?!Are you implying that she's a motherfucking whore?!"  
  
Fuyuhiko is about to throw himself at Ibuki's neck,who mumbles several other hypotheses under her breath.Fortunately,the Ultimate Musician is soon saved by a suspicious rumbling sound from behind the bushes.The rumbling catches the two's attention,Ibuki looks half excited half scared,while Fuyuhiko stares at the bush in curiousity.What makes him more curious is the sudden voice coming from that same bush.

Ibuki brings both her hands to her cheeks and screams."Aah!The bush talks!" she yells,Fuyuhiko protects his ears from her life-threatening scream,he doesn't want to be deaf after all.The bush suddenly moves harder and more violent,until a familiar head pops out of the bush,yawning."...Hey...Don't yell like that..."Chiaki manages to speak and rubs her eye,before a yawn escapes her mouth.  
  
Fuyuhiko is taken aback and instinctively takes a step back and moves his hands up in protection.Fuyuhiko isn't scared or anything,but he surely wasn't expecting Chiaki to be sleeping in a bush at school.If you rethink about it,it makes pretty much sense."Chiaki?Why are you in a bush...?"he asks,pretty dumbfounded at the situation,and he'll soon regret have asked that question,because he has already pretty much an idea of her answer.  
  
Ibuki stays silent,rather speechless at what she sees in front of her."..."Chiaki takes her time to wake up completely to answer."...Sleepy."she mumbles,her eyelids half closed.Fuyuhiko sihgs and gives up,Ibuki runs to Chiaki and holds her up. _Why even in a bush,of all places...?_  
Not long after he thought this statement,the bell rings.  
  
The students gather at the entrance and slowly make their way inside.Not everyone makes it immediatly to its classroom due to the hallways being too narrow and crowded.Eventually,class 77-B makes it to their local in one piece.And to everyone's surprise,everyone is there,even Nagito.  
  
Without making any eyecontact with anyone,Fuyuhiko and Peko sit at their desk in silence.The rest of the class is busy with their own doings as usual.Despite how noisy it's in the classroom,they're pretty used to it by now.They're even used ro how the classroom usually shakes everytime,though their classmates are responsible for it,mostly Akane and Nekomaru that never wait for a sparring session.Sometimes,Gundham's occult activities also causes for the classroom to tremble.It's a miracle the classroom is still standing.

Besides them,Ibuki's is dancing around in the class on the beats of Chiaki's game soundtrack,Mikan is falling on the floor with every move she makes and end up showing her panties to the whole damn class,Teruteru stole Mahiru's camera to take shots from an exposed Mikan,Hyioko is having a great time insutling Mikan,Sonia is clinging onto Gundham to get as far away as possible from Kazuichi,Nagito is rambling about how bagels are full of hope and probably could save the world,Byakuya is eating meat on a scewer;who knows how he got that here,Mahiru is too buzy worrying about the mess the class is in to notice her camera missing and Akane is obviously training with Nekomaru.  
  
Peko is lonely,zoning off as she ignores the mess the others are making in the class,but she's woken up by a warm feeling,more precisely on her hand.With curiousity,Peko looks down at her hand,then cracks a barely noticeable smile.She scoops up the hamster to make it rest in her hand and caresses it with her other hand.Before she'd become aware of it,she starts a conversation with one of the Four Devas of Destruction.  
  
"San-D,was it?"she whispers,increasing her confidence in caressing the little animal.She wasn't scared in the first place,but you better never know.He and his friends are called like this for a reason,aren't they?  
"Hmph,you fool.The one you are holding is Jum-P."Gundham comments from afar,he's probably glad he has something else to pay attention to than the blonde clinging to his body.  
  
Peko nods with understandment and apologies."Oh,my bad."She looks back at the hamster in her hand and stretches out her smile.It feels really weird,but comforting and pleasant at the same time.She never expected to caress an animal would give you those kinds of feelings."You're really fun to pet,aren't you...?"she whispers,Jum-P simply continues nuzzling in her hand as he continues to take a nap.  
  
A faint chuckle escapes her lips and her eyes look happy.She keeps holding a discussion,that isn't all that meaningless in the end.She could've kept up like this if it isn't for someone sending her awkward stare vibes.All she needs to do is look up from her desk to witness the person that's awkwardly staring at her since the beginning.

She witnesses Fuyuhiko staring at her with a blank yet dumbfounded expression.That single facial trait makes Peko embarassed and immediatly look down to hide her embarassement."What the hell,Peko?"he let out.  
Peko doesn't answer,and simple keeps her head down,but keeps petting Jum-P nonetheless.  
  
Fuyuhiko can't take his unbelieving eyes off her,and his mind is strangely empty.Nothing's going through his mind.Compared to what he planned to,he turns around more brutally than expected and immediatly brings his hand to his face,his body barely trembles. _The fuck?That was cute..._  
  
Despite their classmates being utter airheads,those are still their classmates and friends.They're so lively,all different from Fuyuhiko's and Peko's environnement.This is such a change,but it's a good change that gives a good feeling.No matter how annoying,stupid and weird they are,this feels definitely good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is this...really okay though?

 

 

 

 

 

Chaper 1

END


	2. ×Second×

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fuyuhiko is stuck for a short moment in a dimension between the real and Neo world and makes a quick mental summary of all what happened on Jaberwock Island.

 

 A ridiculously blinding light burns Fuyuhiko's eyes.Strangely enough,he feels his body being lifted up by the non existence.Because he has it hard to adjust his view to the strong light,he can't clearly see his surroundings,but he can easily make out that he's all alone in that unknown space between the real and the Neo world.  
  
He's been in that uncomfortable position and place for a while now.How long,he can't tell.And to his unknown,the longer he travels in this space,the more his memory degrades.He'd stay in that space-alike place until he all traces of his adventure on Jabberwock Island are completely erased.  
  
The killing school trip,the island,the class trials,the executions,Monokuma,Usami and Chiaki,the other survivors.Everything,everyone is going to fade away for good,and he'll never remember.  
  
Fuyuhiko hates to admit it,but he doesn't want to forget about them.He doesn't want to forget about those persons who he almost lived a month with on that island.He doesn't want to forget about the persons that annoyed him to the fullest,but that he still considered as classmates,some even friends.  
  
Fuyuhiko is a yakuza and is born in the world of yakuzas.His status as a memeber and the heir of the clan caused that he didn't come out often of the compound,and so had not much chances of making friends.Plus,his cold and violent behavior would often scare away the other children of his age.He grew up in the world of yakuzas,so naturally,he wouldn't forget about those insane and stupid, yet colorful friends.  
  
But in the end,wether he wants to forget or not,it's not up to him.He is forced to forget about them,and no matter how hard he'll try to remember,he will never remember them.Once he'll be home,he won't remember anything and anyone,and that somehow saddens him.  
  
Furthemore,when he'll be back in the real world,he will live as Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu,a Remnant of Despair that was experimented on to be an Ultimate Despair with his classmates,and not as Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu,the cold and short Ultimate Yakuza that has an milk intolerence.Sure,Junko Enoshima is gone for good now her AI is destroyed as well,but what is the use of it if there's a huge chance that himself and the four others will cause another tragedy,that they tried to avoid to happen by destroying Junko?  
  
What's the use if another tragedy will occur?Is that choice really worth it?  
  
I mean,he will cause yet another tragedy of humanity and destroy humankind for no reason because of the influence that bitch had on them and the'll be held for responsible.He will blindly kill thousands of persons that he knows and doesn't know.Adding to that that he'll never see Peko again,pains him even more.

If he was alone to make a choice,he'd obviously think that'd be the worst choice to make out of the three,and he blindly would've chosen to graduate,only to see her one last time and to be by her side once again.Plus,he'd go back to the real world in his actual state,his sane state.Really,the 'Graduation' was really tempting,and he'd press that button without hesitation if it wasn't for Hajime to bring his senses back.  
  
That proposition of creating their own future...It sounds more catchy and tempting than the graduation thing.But then comes that question,that only Fuyuhiko could answer.  
  
What is he planning to do in the future?How will he build,create his own future?  
  
Fuyuhiko can't answer that question,at least not yet.He has no idea what's awaiting him in the real world.He doesn't know who's there,waiting for him to come back and gladly welcome him back home.Somehow,a small part of him doesn't want to know,nor does it want to have plans for the future.Fuyuhiko is just desperately scared to not be able to reach his new goal.He's scared that despair will go in his way and crush all his hopes into powdered dust,again.  
  
Is he really ready to start again from square one,create a new hope to live for?After all,there is no hope without despair,like there is no despair without hope.If you want to hope,you'll have to overcome despair.If you want despair,you have to destroy hope.That is how the awful reality works,and Fuyuhiko is unfortunately very aware of it.And even if he didn't want to believe it before,the single thought of the events he just got through were good evidences that those sentences are no lies.  
  
But since his memories of Jabberwock Island are dissapearing,accepting the truth will be even more difficult for him.Being the person he is,he just has it difficult to believe without evidences.But if you hit his weak spot,he'll instantly become gullible and believe whatever you say.That proves that he has a few sweet spots despite being a violent and short-tempered yakuza heir,and he absolutely hates it.

At the beginning of this crazy adventure,Fuyuhiko described himself to the others as a 'lone wolf' and refused to mix with the others.Hell,he even uselessly stayed up in his room or simply skipped breakfast to not eat with the others.He had no peculiar grudge against the others,but he took that killing school trip business seriously,unlike the others,he thought.  
  
It's true he had wondered how the old hotel looked like from inside and how the party was going like,but nowhere in hell was he going to go in and party with the others.He had done right since that's when the first killing occured,but it also gave him a weak alibi and caused him to be suspected at first because of his absence.  
  
Fuyuhiko had seen many dead corpses in his life,but never did he saw someone being fried alive.In fact,he never saw a fried person before.Neither did he ever saw someone being sent off to space or killed by a group of running animals.But thanks to that 'killing school trip',he learnt new ways of killing.  
  
_Who was the first victim again?_  
His first day at Jabberwock Island slowly begins to fade away.He barely remembers neing in a classroom before have landed on an island wich he spent a month on.He also doesn't remember anything about a party being held,or even who were the two first to die.But he does still remember about someone being fried alive.  
  
Next are the memories of the beach,how he stayed alone to eat,and then had his quiet and peaceful loneliness disturbed by pink head and sharp ahoge head.Fuyuhiko believes both are called Hajime and Kazuichi,but he can't make out who is who.  
  
Then his peace definitely was ruined by the crowd of girls barging in the place,wich simple led him to leave the area.  
Then only a while later,he headed to the beach house.He remembers having a 'not so friendly' conversation with the feminist of the group,Mahiru Koizumi she's called,Fuyuhiko remembers.  
  
It's well known for all yakuzas to have a short temper and naturally add a random insult in every statement they say.And when a woman as annoying as Koizumi gets irritated,that only angers the yakuza even more.That'd explain his reflex of grabbing a nearby object and hold himself ready to attack Koizumi with it,only to shut her up.

However,none of that went like expected.Instead,a shadow appeared out of nowhere,and the next second,Koizumi sat against the door leading to the road in a pool of her own blood.Other thing he needed time to process was the person standing protectively in front of him,none other than Peko.  
  
"Young master,I'm finished."she then announced,so naturally,as if she was announcing dinner was finished.But no,this wasn't dinner,far from that.  
"P-Peko?"Fuyuhiko stared with stunned eyes at her figure,covered in Koizumi's blood and the bag containing her bamboo sword still on.  
  
"I am finished,young master."Peko repeated.She carelessly dropped the bat and cautiously bend over,until she was at the corpse's height,only to grab her forcefully and push her aside."Please use this door to escape."she gestured to the said door,without touching it with her dirty hands.  
  
Still stunned,the words didn't come up.He wasn't paralized by the sight of Koizumi's bloodied corpse,he was rather surprised of Peko's sudden appearance and her work.Not that he ever doubted her skills,he already got the chance to watch her doing her job,and she was amazingly good at it.She was called the Ultimate Swordswoman for a reason.  
  
Still,he didn't understand why Peko killed Koizumi.Fuyuhiko had his own reasons to finish her,but he never talked about it with Peko.Could it have been that Peko also had issues with Koizumi,or was it just a coincidence that she came in and witnessed Fuyuhiko ready to jump at her neck,and simply came in and attacked,as she'd think it's her duty to do the dirty work?

Fuyuhiko frowned and curled his hands into fists."What the fuck are you doing,Peko?"was all he got out of his mouth for the moment being.She had no specific reason to be here in the first place,and less to kill Koizumi,in Fuyuhiko's opinion.  
"I avoided young master to dirty his own hands."was all she answered.  
  
Again with that,he thought.Fuyuhiko was a responsible and independant man.Having someone watch over him and decide for him,even if it was for his own good,he absolutely hated it,because he felt like being treated like a child.He was a grown up man,but even so he sometimes wished he'd feel the excitement of experiencing a sin or doing something wrong.  
  
But of course,that was all a thought and feeling,and it'd never become reality.Because everywhere he'd go,he'd be stalked.But in another way,Fuyuhiko also liked the feeling of being like the mastermind behind a genocide and have people to his feet that did whatever he'd order them to do.  
That,was the pleasant feeling of running the biggest yakuza business in Japan.

He had either to choose between the two possibilities.And to be able to commit sins,he'd have to  
handle the people who followed him everywhere.Fuyuhiko would never be able to kill Peko with his own hands,he wouldn't handle her death at all.But in the end,he didn't get any choice,and Peko was executed by Monokuma.  
  
Fuyuhiko was badly injured,but surprisingly made it out alive.He could still talk and hear and see,and he still had both arms and legs attached to his body.He didn't regret have lost sight in his left eye in the execution,and he even wishes he'd scoop that eye out off his skull,as it most probably could be Junko's.  
  
Mahiru Koizumi's death and existence is now erased from his memory,there are no traces left.Except Peko's existence and his relationship with her.Fuyuhiko knew Peko since his youngest age,and so even remembered her when his class was suddenly brought to Jabberwock Island in the Neo world.That's why,even if his school memories and his memories from the events that occured in the Neo world were erased,he'd still remember about Peko.  
  
But that'll just give him an even more weird feeling.He knows about Peko,but doesn't know she doesn't exist anymore,nor how she died.He has the exact same feeling about Natsumi.When he'll be back in the real world,he expects to find everyone safe and sound,busy with their daily routine.But if only he knew that he destroyed the place he calls 'home' with his swordswoman's assistance.  
  
The next event that's about to be erased of his memory is the insane double killing who the killer is the least expected person from the group;the shy and not understanded Tsumiki Mikan.Of all the people left,Fuyuhiko would have more expected a boy or an enraged girl to be the killer,but no, it had was Mikan.  
  
Everyone on the island was a Remnant of Despair,but their avatars were supposed to be sane and normal Ultimates.Now that the plot was revealed,it bugs Fuyuhiko even more.Everyone wasn't supposed to act as a Remnant of Despair,but Mikan's behavior was soon clear to everyone when she suddenly stopped stuttering and drooled in the name of despair.

Indeed,Mikan announced that she only killed for her beloved one,the only one to have ever forgiven her.She also made it very clear that her relation with the others was meaningless and that she lived for despair.It's still not clear if all her act was because of the despair disease or if she naturally was like this.But in both cases,it was weird and scary.  
  
_Mikan Tsumi-who...?_  
Fuyuhiko frowns as he tries to remember.He's already here for quite a moment,and that feeling of being lifted up soon begins to feel uncomfortable.He feels heavy and light at the same time,and that definitely feels weird and wrong.Half of his memories on Jabberwock Island are now erased,and he has no idea of it anymore.  
  
After Mikan's execution,the annoying rabbit;Usami or Monomi,whatever,joined the surviving students in the dining hall and informed everyone that she,once again defeated one of Monobear's mechanical monsters.And like usual,everyone wondered how a small stuffed rabbit could defeat a giant beast,but no one bothered asking.But if you can save someone's live by turning them into a robot,then a stuffed animal beating up a Monobeast could be a possibility.  
  
Rather,everyone growed tired of that killing game and didn't even want to pay the 4th island a visit.That certainly depressed the pink rabbit,who gave her all to defeat the Monobeasts.Ironically enough,it was Monokuma who convinced them all to visit the unlocked island.Well,his provided information about the island was a great motivation to get everyone moving.  
  
And so,the nine remaining students headed to the central island and explored the 4th island.To be honest,Fuyuhiko felt dumbed and stupid to have believed a single word from that bear once he got the island's theme.How would an amusement park be useful in finding clues on the Mastermind behind all that killing school trip,and who the hell Future Foundation were.  
  
As expected,no one found any useful clues.It's only a while later,when everyone gathered at the Roller Coaster that Monokuma appeared and offered them a book of Hope's Peak.  
In the book was explained how a bunch of teenagers were closed up in Hope's Peak and were forced to participate to a 'mutual killing school life',wich was pretty similar to their current situation.Only difference was their location.  
  
It also gave away the identity of the six survivors that defeated the Mastermind and escaped Hope's Peak Academy.And to everyone's surprise...  
Byakuya was one of the six survivors of the mutual killing school life,and he was apparently slim back then.

Fuyuhiko was confused to that information,sure.But he didn't give it much though,it was pretty possible that he was brought here with the rest of the whole group,to then being the first victim.It's exactly because he was dead that Fuyuhiko decided to not overthink it.Let that apart,he remembers someone mentionning that everyone had to take the train altogether to go to the Funhouse.And for an unknown reason,Fuyuhiko blindlessly accepted and jumped in.  
  
And as stupid as they were,they fell in Monkuma's trap and were all abducted,only to then be brought to a pink sort of parc for children with strawberries patterns all over the walls and floor.Monokuma gladly announced that this was the Funhouse,and the actual motive.Actually,the real motive was hold closed up in the Funhouse without food until a killing occured.  
  
Monokuma also gave a bit more explanation about the rooms.Just like there are two Deluxe rooms,one Standard room and two Crummy rooms in each house.The Deluxe Rooms were soundproof and had a good isolation,while the Standard rooms' isolation were so so but it wasn't soundproof and the Crummy rooms were...well,crummy.  
  
And so,the students wandered around and visited the strawberry house.They found out that the strawberry house had a lounche in the same hallway than the rooms with a phone and a clock.Downstairs was also the Strawberry Hall,along with the elevator and a mysterious room called'The Final Dead Room'.Fuyuhiko passed the door despite the name being pretty persuasive,simply because too much shit already happened to tell him that all this wasn't done yet and he didn't want to die yet.  
  
All nine went through the strawberry hall and discovered the strawberry tower ,with a door supmosedly leading to the Grape House.The door only was a fake as it led nowhere.It was just placed there as decoration and to fuck with their small minds.  
  
They then all took the elevator and landed in the Grape House.There,the form was different than the one of Strawberry House.In the middle of the first floor was a statue of a certain person called 'Ogre'.That person sure looked well builded and strong.And tall.But was that a male or a woman?It was hard to tell with their figure and their sailor uniform.  
  
But Fuyuhiko merely payed any attention to it as it didn't seem anything interesting or helpful.There was no 'Final Dead Room' like in the Strawberry House,but it had a lounge at the same spot than the Strawberry House.After having wandered a bit aeound,the group stated that they were going to stay several days here and so decided to divide the group in two,most logically,boys and girls apart.

The girls chose for the Grape House,as Chiaki confessed that the Strawberry pattern made her head throb,the boys didn't complain and decided for the assigned room together.  
Unfortunately,there were six boys and only five rooms in each house.The boys decided who took wich room and who'd be the (un)lucky boy to sleep in a house with only girls.  
  
The two boys that won the Deluxe rooms were Gundham and,oh how funny,Komaeda.Mechamaru got the Standard room,Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko would rest in the Crummy rooms,wich left Hajime sleeping in the Grape House.Kazuichi protested about how unfair that was and made it quite clear that he wanted to switch with him.It's because he showed it openly that no one agreed with Kazuichi for the best.  
  
Eventually,Hajime announced he'd sleep in a Crummy room,even though the Standard room was disponible. That didn't disturb anyone,so they all agreed,and not long after that,everyone went to sleep.  
Every morning begun to be more and more heavy to handle,mostly because Monokuma forced everyone to attend his Tai Chi lessons early in the morning,with empty stomachs.The first days were okay,but everyday became more difficult to handle.  
  
That'ps until a night when Fuyuhiko couldn't get to sleep.His stomach was grumbling like crazy and annoying him,and his eyes didn't want to close despite them being exhausted.Plus,the Crummy room wasn't helping at all.Fuyuhiko sat down and stayed silent as he stared at the annoying Strawberry pattern on the floor,like a corpse.  
  
Fuyuhiko had nothing against strawberries,he was pretty neutral about them,but this girly pink pattern was tiring him and almost driving him in hating strawberries.He wondered if it'd be the case if the boys rested in the Grape House.  
Fuyuhiko easilly drove off in his own thoughts as there was nothing ebtertaining enough to catch his attention.Besides Mechamaru that left his room earlier and got downstairs.Fuyuhiko wondered why he'd go downstairs so early in the morning.After all,it only was 5am.  
  
From Mechamaru,he easilly switched to think about the discussion he had earlier with Akane.Now that he had the time to think,he found himself pretry dumb,giving advices like this to someone.He found it pretty dumb because of his status.He's supposed to be an emotionless bastard yakuza that kills everyone.And there he had felt all emotional and talked with Akane for the first time about emotional things,that she probablu didn't even understood or cared to listen to.  
  
Fuyuhiko perfectly knew what pushed him to go talk with Akane so suddenly.If it wasn't for Peko being executed right in front of him,he'd never go talk to Akane,less about such subjects.He just so happened to somehow recognise his relationship with Peko within Akane and Nekomaru.

He could see how much Akane beared Nechomaru in her,and how Nechomaru could easilly give up his life for Akane.He did jump in front of her and bearly died for her sake after all. Exactly like Peko did.Fuyuhiko could've talked to Mechamaru about it,but this situation just made him decide to go talk with Akane instead,plus she was less annoying than Mechamaru who'd probably offer him some juice pouring from his eyes.  
  
Though,he could've make good use of it as they were informed they wouldn't get anything to eat until a murder happened.And of course,Mechamaru was the next being murdered.And Monokuma had to ruin the sad mood with his happy voice and by bringing food to everyone with a happy mood.  
  
The Grape House discovered the corpse first,but the boys couldn't know about him being murdered because there were no monitors to display the body discovery announcement.It's only a while later,when the elevator was finally in use,that the boys discovered the boys as well.The Strawberry House already begun with the investigations,except Akane who silently stayed next to Mechamaru's destroyed body.Although she'd spit out stupid excuses to keep an eye on him,we all knew she just didnnt want to leave him alone.But no one argued with it,so it was pretty okay.  
  
The crime scene didn't give much away about the murderer,only about how the murder occured.Though a small detail that Fuyuhiko believes that everyone had forgotten,even himself,pointed out the killer.The trial revealed a lot of secrets.Like the Strawberry House wasn't apart from the Grape House,but just above,the Ultimate weapon wasn't an actual weapon,but only the house itself was.Though there was still that mystery going on about Hajime because of Komaeda that kept rambling about how everyone was the great image of hope and all,except for Hajime.  
  
After those events,Fuyuhiko concluded that the 4th island indeed didn't have much clues,actually none he could find,but he believed,like everyone else,that dear Komaeda had found those useful clues,judging from his sudden change in demeanor.Everyone,even Fuyuhiko himself had noticed how glued Komaeda was to Hajime,but back then at the 4th class trial,he was just acting like more of a dick than he already was.  
  
Everyone returned once again to the dining hall,and once again,Usami appeared to announce that she defeated the very last Monobeast.This time,the remaining seven students weren't scared or annoyed anymore and heartly went visit the last island.Fuyuhiko didn't give it a full tour as the ambiance of the island wasn't all that pleasant.What bugged him the most was probably that everything on that island turned around Monokuma,even more than the other islands altogether.  
  
To keep his eyes healthy,he stopped at an abandonned Oden street with a couple of Oden streetrestaurants.Although he was still a bit hungry,he didn't dare to touch the prepared Oden that looked and smelled rather delicious,but could've stand there for who knows how long.Not too long later,Hajime joined him,followed by the others.  
  
After a short visit of the island,everyone returned to the first island,and only then 'shit got real',to Fuyuhiko's opinion,though he's sure he wasn't the only one to think so.Because everyone was very aware of Komaeda being as insane as Mikan,but it's only then that Komaeda got serious.  
  
From there begun his traitor hunting,where he menaced the other survivors that he'd blow up entire Jabberwock Island.Luckily,Fuyuhiko found the bombs and brought the others to the location in time.And apparently,this was only a stupid trap,or joke set by mister Komaeda.  
  
Informed by the recorded video,Fuyuhiko and the others rushed to the stockage room next door and once they 'gently' opened the door,a fire started.With Sonia's direction's,the small group grabbed as much bottles as possible and threw them directly into the fire.And when the fire finally stopped...

At the other side of the room laid down a lifeless body;Nagito's corpse:Tied up.Spear going through his abdomens.Taped mouth.Several stabwounds on his upper legs.Wide open,bloodshot eyes.In the end,Fuyuhiko still didn't like Nagito,but it honestly disturbed him even more to know that a new killing occured,without having Monokuma giving any motive,that is.If that goes on,there won't be any survivor anymore,Fuyuhiko thought.  
  
Once this fucked up class trial ended,it was decided that the 'traitor' Chiaki would be executed,much to Hajime's and Sonia's unlikeness,not that it didn't matter to the others,actually.  
  
And when Fuyuhiko thought everything might be over,well he just overthought things.  
  
Things were far from being over.The real business merely started from there.Because that's when they found out they were Remnants of Despair and game characters,met the Ultimate Despair;AI Junko Enoshima and found out about Hajime's second person;Kamukura Izuru.Then things turned difficult,even when the members of Future Foundation came to help.  
  
The survivors made a choice,and now here he is.  
  
There are only nine names he remembers at the moment,though their existence are slowly erased from his subconscience.  
  
Hinata Hajime:Erased.  
  
Soda Kazuichi:Erased.  
  
Nevermind Sonia:Erased.  
  
Owari Akane:Erased.  
  
Enoshima Junko:Erased.  
  
Naegi Makoto:Erased.  
  
Kirigiri Kyoko:Erased.  
  
Togami Byakuya:Erased.  
  
Pekoyama Peko:Era-

* * *

 

The blinding light becomes stronger,Fuyuhiko can't help but cover up his eye again and let out a groan.Seriously,this levitating thing is starting to piss him off.But at the exact same moment he has this thought,his body collapses on the ground.For a moment,he stays still and keeps his eyes closed.That trip certainly felt tiring,for some reason even Fuyuhiko can't figure out.All he knows is that he's finally landed on hard ground,meaning he's finally back into the real world.And to his surprise,he doesn't hear any war sounds,instead he hears a calming sound.A calming sound of water rocking-  
  
Wait,that's not right.  
  
Didn't Junko mention something about the world being in despair?Though Fuyuhiko has no reason to believe her,he's pretty sure that even the demon wouldn't joke about that.  
  
With brusque movements,Fuyuhiko shots his eyes open and sits straight up,and what he sees leaves him speecheless and more confused than ever.In front of him is a beautiful view,the ocean.Underneath his body rests warm yellow sand and behind him are standing tropical trees.Above him is a clear blue sky filled with small clouds here and there and the shining sun in the  
center.  
  
The scenery looks awfully familiar to Fuyuhiko.Hell,even the sound of the moving ocean and wind is uniquely familiar to his ears.With a weak and hesitant voice,he opens his mouth and mumbles under his breath"An...Island?Jabberwock Island?"  
  
No,that couldn't be,Fuyuhiko thinks.He's supposed to have forgotten about everything,yet he remembers that name?Why's that?Did something go wrong?Plus,the island isn't supposed to exist anymore,from what he understood in the simulation.Something isn't right.  
  
Fuyuhiko shoots up from the sand and whipes it away from his clothes,he frowns.He takes a glance at the sparkly ocean in front of him.He can watch this beautiful scenery for who knows how long,but first,he neeeds to clear his thoughts,to make things clear _.I need to make sure this is,_  
_or isn't Jabberwock Island._  
  
Fuyuhiko relucantly turns his back to the ocean and walks out of the beach.With his hands burried in his pockets,he scans his surroundings.Unlike the simulation,there's no bridge leading to the central island to his right.Fuyuhiko turns around and directs himself through the island,and the further he goes,the more his suspicious become clear.He passes by the Rocketpunch Market,the Ranch,the Airport,the Hotel.

Fuyuhiko decides to first stop by the market.That travel through dimensions sure tired him out,but made him somewhat hungry as well.Though he's dissapointed when he enters the shop,because the shop is like a desert;empty,spotless.All that's left as 'useful' objects are the small gifts stuck in that machine at the back of the shop.Though it looks slightly different from the one in the simulation,it's smaller and hasn't Monokuma's freacking head on it.Despite that machine being different and the shop being in lack of food,the shop itself looks the same.The aisles are the same,but only empty.  
  
After the Rocketpunch Market,Fuyuhiko directs himself to the Airport.He personally didn't spend much time in the airport,he doesn't even remember ever have visited it.But then why does he even remember that place.The airport is a ruin.The rolling carpets are still turning,but are slightly broken,so are the windows separating the inside and the outside of the airport.Empty and teared apart luggages are lying around and even the flies are broken apart.  
  
Fuyuhiko stops at the entrance of the Ranch.There's no need to go in since therens nothing left to admire.Only grass.Even the panel at the entrance is half-hanging,and written on it isn't 'Usami's Corral' but some stranger's name instead.Fuyuhiko isn't very fond of 'farm beasts',but he can't help but have a certain feeling when he looks at the empty ranch that he used to see overwhelming with life,with a chicken here,a cow there and even other animals he can't remember right.  
  
Fuyuhiko unlocks the wooden gate and leaves it close on its own behind him.He walks down the path and can't help but turn his head left and right.The outside looks exactly like in the simulation.At his left and right are lined up cottages;left for the boys,right for the girls.When he continues walking,he then passes by the pool,that doesn't look so clean anymore.That's a shame,since they never used that pool back then,but it's not like Fuyuhiko even wanted to jump into the water right now.  
  
He stops right in front of the hotel;Hotel Mirai.It looks exactly like the one they used to eat breakfast at in the Neo World.It's exactly the same.With everything he witnessed,Fuyuhiko thinks it's safe to say this is indeed the real Jabberwock Island,although it confuses him even more.And in a flash,a dozen of memories flashes through his mind.It all appears in a millisecond before his eyes,he's even able to make out the voices and the expression of the people around him.But alas,all that's over now.  
  
With Hajime and the others,they decided to return to the real world and find a way to save their friends.But not letting Junko wake them up means the survivors would eventually end up in despair and destroy the workd like they already did once.

With a somewhat shaky foot,he takes his first step towards the entrance of the hotel.It lands on the first stair,then the second,finally he's standing face to face with the door.Although his body hesitates,his mind is determined to enter and with a forceful push,he opens the door.Eventually,he ends up in the hotel lobby.  
  
Fuyuhiko's eyes immediatly dance around the lobby,he obliviously examines the area.Yup,exactly like in the Neo World.No changes,besides it's more dusty,but it's not in ruin or burnt like when Nagito was smat enough to place a bomb in the lobby and send everything on fire,as a warning for the so called bombs that would blow up the whole island,and that actually were nothing but mere fireworks.  
  
No,there is something different,or it's just that Fuyuhiko never noticed it before.At the very end of the lobby,near the stairs are two hidden doors.Were they also there in the simulation?Fuyuhiko couldn't remember.Filled with curiousity,Fuyuhiko leads his small body to the doors,he easilly slipped in between the stairs and the wall,and he eventually finds himself aimlessly standing straight in front of those two unknown doors.He stares silently at both doors,lost in a sea of wonders;the main question being _'What's behind those doors...?'_

Without really thinking,Fuyuhiko stretches out his arm and opens his hand that reaches to the diorknob of one of the doors on its own.It even trembles with impatience,like all his small figure actually,but something else catches his attention at the exact moment when his fingers merely brush against the doorknob.A voice.  
  
A very familiar voice.  
  
Fuyuhiko blinks in surprise and instantly takes his hand back,he instinctly looks at the direction the voice came from,it seemingly came from upstairs. _What the fuck?!_ Fuyuhiko stares dumbly at the stairs behind him,as if waiting for someone to emerge.But of course,the island is supposed to not even exist,and if it still does,it's obviously inhabited.But then again,what the hell is he doing here?  
  
Fuyuhiko shakes his head to clear up his mind.There's no way that voice was actually a real voice he just heard.But if that voice indeed wasn't real,it just puts him more on edge,because it would mean he'd actually hear one of their voice.And Fuyuhiko would never assume missing those people.Never ever.  
  
In any case,Fuyuhiko focuses on the doors again.Like a moment ago,he reaches for the doorknob but more carelessly.This time,his hand actually rests on the doorknob,but something strange happens next.  
  
That's right,the doorknob turns on its own.  
  
With a disturbed expression on his face,Fuyuhiko raises an eyebrow at the door,and a single tear of cold sweat rolls down his cheek.Obviously,he immediatly takes his hand away and actually holds it close to him.And with a swift move,the door swings open,and it reveals a too familiar figure.The person is holding a small cage in their right hand,and it seems to contain some animals in it.Probably rats,Fuyuhiko thinks.But it finally hits him when he actually discovers the person holding the cage.  
  
Fuyuhiko's eyes widen in surprise.He uncousciously takes a step back to keep balance and he stares at the person standing in front of him with round eyes.With a weak voice,he whisper-like asks"S-Sonia...?"

 

 

 

Chapter 2

END


	3. ×Tirth×

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The five survivors of the school killing trip are sent back to Jabberwock Island and haven't lost their memory.Did somethin go wrong at Future Foundation,or was it done on purpose?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with the tirth chapter of this story~
> 
> Check out the end note for more details.Enjoy~

"S-Sonia...?"Fuyuhiko asks with bewildered eyes.His hands are uselessly hanging at his sides,though they're slightly stiff.The fact that he even speaks out that name and recognises that figure he was supposed to forget surprises him even more. _Wha-How?_  
  
Sonia tightens her hold on the cage that's shaking in her hands,the shaking is caused by none other than the three hamsters closed up in it.Fuyuhiko believes Tanaka called them the 'Four Devas of Destruction',but he can't clearly remember their personal names,less who's who.Sonia flashes him a gentle smile and nods with her eyes closed."Oh,you arrived.I didn't think you'd be the next to arrive here."Sonia opens her eyes."Hello."  
  
Fuyuhiko frowns with disturbation and obviously confusion and uncousciously takes a secure step back.After all,this situation clearly contradicts what Naegi,Kirigiri and the true Togami told them in the simulation before they each departed for the real world,and it simply makes no sense,certainly if you rely on the trio's and even Junko's words.  
  
"Hey,what's the meaning of this?Why're we here?Aren't we supposed to be all in our hometowns or whatever?"  
Sonia sighs,she keeps on a smile nonetheless."It is true we were told we would be sent back to the real world,but it was never clarified where exactly.But I believe Naegi,Kirigiri and Togami didn't send us here on purpose."Sonia crosses her arms and frowns at the floor,still holding the cage.  
  
"Huh,not on purpose?"Fuyuhiko repeats in wonder."Do you mean,something went wrong when they sent us to the real world?"Fuyuhiko kind of already knows the answer,but hend rather ask it anyway,just to be safe."Well,we still do remember each other after all."she softly smiles."Not to mention that we're still sane.At this time,we should be killing people in various,crazy ways.But here we are,back on Jabberwock Island,completely sane and normal and remembering all what happened in the Neo world."Sonia puts a hand to her chin for a moment,the smiles at Fuyuhiko when she retires it."Yes,something definiantly happened when we were sent here."  
  
The answer Sonia gave him isn't all that assuring,but Fuyuhiko somehow feels like some weight is lift off his shoulders,he feel lighter and is less fidget.Before he can speak,Sonia speaks up again with a deep frown and putting a hand on her chin again."Although there is something bothering me."Sonia speaks low,Fuyuhiko raises an eyebrow."There are no bridges connecting this island to the central island.How are we going to travel between them?Plus,this island seems pretty clean though it was an inhabited island."

"Hmm.."Fuyuhiko voices,he looks away with his hands in his sides."Does this mean...We're stuck on this island?"  
Fuyuhiko crosses his arms and hmm-s again,he closes his eyes."I wonder...We'll probably find a way to get off this cursed island."  
Sonia's expression immediatly switches when Fuyuhiko speaks out the word 'cursed'.She slightly cocks her head and merely raises an eyebrow.She clunches both hands on the handle of the cage."Cursed?"  
  
He turns his head away and tightens his grip on his arms,he frowns."I don't know 'bout you,but the memories I have of this island aren't all that pleasant.Well,I mean the Neo version of this island."He resonates,Sonia slowly glooms.She sadly frowns at the floor and sighs through her nose before speaking up."I'm...not sure about it,but I think I might know something that could mooden you up."Obviously,this catches Fuyuhiko's whole attention.He straightens his composure and glares straight into Sonia's bright eyes."Huh?Mooden me up?"  
  
Sonia nods and forces a smile to her features."Yes,you should come in."She takes a small step aside and gestures to the door she appeared from.Fuyuhiko stares for a small moment,before a grasp pulls him from his spot and drags him inside."Hey,l-let me-"Fuyuhiko tries to complain,but Sonia won't let go of him.Once they're completely inside,Sonia closes the door behind her out of reflex,not that there's any reason for her to close the door,and finally lets go of Fuyuhiko's small arm,who cut through his own statement at the sight of witnessing what's behind that door he hesitated to open earlier.  
  
With a somewhat proudlooking Sonia standing next to him,Fuyuhiko feels strange,he silently stares at what's in front of him.Pods,ten pods exactly.Fuyuhiko is at a fair distance from the pids and can't make out whatns inside each pod,to according to Sonia's words,he can already figure out what's resting inside those pods,more like _who_.  
Fuyuhiko stares immobile and silent at the pods in sight,even his mind stopped working and his inner self shut up too.

Sonia gently pushes him forwards with her shoulder,she gives him a wink when he looks up at her.He somewhat childishly hmph-s and burries his hands in his pantspockets.He turns his head towards the pods again,he frowns and takes his first determined step forward.His shoes clicking against the floor is the only sound resonating through the room,clicking sound that's soon joined by the sound of Sonia's shoes.He stops in front of one of the pods and contemplates it for a short moment.  
  
Like expected,he recognises the person lying in a comatose inside the pod,although he didn't knew her under this form in the simulation.Hyioko had a sudden grow spurt,thing that Fuyuhiko could benefit from,but will probably never have.But Fuyuhiko decides it's not the best time to pout about it.Of course,if Saionji is here,then she's also here.Without a second thought,Fuyuhiko walks away from Saionji's pod and takes a quick peek at every pod he passes by.  
  
He eventually finds hers,he abruptly stops and silently stares at her pod,his hands still burried in his pockets.No words want to come out,and it's useless to talk anyways;since she's in a comatose,she'd most probably not answer,and who knows not even listen.Even so,it's way enough for Fuyuhiko to only look at her.It suffices him.  
  
Her features aren't very different from the simulation like Saionji,but she looks definitely older;no wonder,people change in three years.Though she looks quite similar,only her hair length changed,it seems longer.But Fuyuhiko can't easily tell since her hair are loose,and not braided like he's used to see her like.  
  
Fuyuhiko silently stares at her features,if there were people around,they'd certainly say he's admiring her and creepily staring at her.His mind is completely fucked up,even he can't understand.A moment it's blank and empty,the next moment it's flooding with thoughts and memories,so much it'd give him a headache.  
  
Sonia emerges from behind him and wears a small smile."So,are you somewhat feeling better?"she softly asks.Fuyuhiko carefully turns his head towards Sonia,only to quickly roll his eyes towards Peko's pod again.He waits a moment before opening his mouth and answering"Kind of."Sonia tilts her head and keeps on her now permanent smile."I thought it would recomfort you a bit to see her again...At least,it made me smile to see our comrades again."Sonia hides her hands holding the cage behind her back."Was I right to show you this,Fuyuhiko?"  
  
Fuyuhiko bops his head down,he lazily throws his leg forwards and lets out a weak groan,that apparenlty isn't supposed to be taken badly."I'd feel better if I knew she'd wake up someday."His eyes weakly roll towards Peko's pod,more specifically her face."It's just even more depressing when you know she can't be saved anymore."  
Sonia cocks her head and looks straight at Fuyuhiko,while pointing a finger at her chin."But...isn't this what we're here for?"  
  
"Huh?"Fuyuhiko is taken by surprise and his brows raise up.Sonia crosses her arms and looks away."Now that I come to think about it,it may not be just a mere coincidence."Fuyuhiko focuses on the floor as he's lost in his thoughts,and when realization hit him,he straightens his composure and looks even more surprised."A-Are you saying...?" Sonia nods."Those three members of the Future Foundation sending us here on purpose might be a possibility."

Fuyuhiko crosses his arms and wonders."So,they sent us here on purpose so we'd try to wake up the others?"He then lets out a heavy sigh."But are we even capable of that?Because I have no idea how we'll do it."  
"All I can think of is wait for Kazuichi to join us.He is the Ultimate Mechanic,after all.He will certainly find a way."  
  
Fuyuhiko nods in agreement,since he can't think of anything else either.He thought it'd be best to wait for him to arrive and ask him about it,maybe they could help in some way.Fuyuhiko aimlessly wanders his eyes back and forth the room,Sonia holds the cage near her and playfully pokes San-D.It's clear to see that she enjoys it,but San-D doesn't dislike it this much although it's not that easy to see.And so,silence fills the room.Though Fuyuhiko soon cuts through the silence.  
  
"So..."he carefully begins."Who's already here?"  
Sonia raises an eyebrow,before the whole question registers in her mind.She then pulls the cage away and focuses on Fuyuhiko."Oh,Akane was here before I arrived,and she has Minimaru with her,too."she smiles at the mention of Minimaru."Besides her,it is only you and I."  
"Hmm,I see." _Then I suppose she was the sound I heard earlier._  
  
"I do not know who will arrive next,but I hope it will be Kazuichi.The sooner he arrives,the sooner we can find a way to wake our friends up."  
Fuyuhiko nods in agreement and lowly answers"Yeah,me too."  
"Very well,I'll be off upstairs,I need to feed the four Dark Devas of Destruction."she announces as she holds up the cage with the mentionned Dark Devas.She turns around and takes her leave.She first stops at the door and speaks."I know I do not need to tell you this,but please do not tamper with what's connected to the pods or whatever is here."Before Fuyuhiko can answer,she leaves.  
  
Fuyuhiko turns around and faces the pods standing in front of him.He lowly mutters"Tch,I'm not stupid enough for that."He uncousciously brings his hand on her pod,and only becomes aware of it when he feels the glass.He begins to talk to himself."That stupid pinkhead better finds a way to wake them up."He frowns and turns to the other pods in his sight."...Even though we'd be better off if some of them never wake up."Fuyuhiko has a sudden,weird feeling coming up from nowhere,he has to shake it out of him."..."  
  
Funny enough,his serious mode is broken by a ridiculous growl emerging from his stomach.Fuyuhiko isn't the glutton type,but he has to admit he indeed is hungry,all that business concerning Junko and his past as a Remnant of Despair made him hungry.Saying that,Fuyuhiko almost feels embarassed,because he just sounded like Akane.  
  
Speaking of wich,he hasn't greeted her yet.Plus,staying here isn't going to do anything,Fuyuhiko thinks.He lazily lets his hand slide off the pod and land uselessly hang at his side as he leaves the area.He makes sure to carefully close the door behind her,even if it actually is useless.He directs himself towards the stairs and begins marching them up.

When he arrives upstairs,he is a little bit surprised.Not to see both girls present,nor to witness Akane chat with a small toy,but rather because he never had the chance to notice how spacious the restaurant is.He didn't come often there and rather ate in his room or at the diner.And when he did go to the restaurant,it was still packed with twelve persons,that quickly went down to only five.  
  
Even though five isn't a big number,it's still more than two-three if you add Minimaru to the count.Fuyuhiko's presence isn't immediatly noticed,as both girls are busy chatting with their small companions.Sonia could've heard Fuyuhiko's footsteps if it wasn't for Akane's loud laughter to cover the sound of his clicking shoes.It's only when he comes to stand in the latter's sight that Sonia turns around and discovers Fuyuhiko standing there.  
  
"Yo,baby gangsta...!How was the trip?"Akane greets with her mouth full of food,and cheerfully waves.Fuyuhiko frowns and curls his hands into fists as he greets his teeth."Didn't I tell you to **not** call me 'baby gangsta' ?"He doesn't miss the Ultimate Princess' giggle at the other side of the restaurant.Like usual,Akane doesn't seem to pay the slightest attention to his comment and waves him to come join her."Come eat with us,the food's rocking!Even coach Nekomaru agrees,right?"  
  
"Nekomaru approves!"Minimaru exclaims,taking Fuyuhiko a small bit aback and making Akane chuckle. _Seems like that thing still works in real life..._  
He awkwardly nods and let his feet drag him to the table Akane sits at.He pulls out the chair,then plops on it.It's only then that he notices the food Akane is munching since earlier.With a somewhat disgusted face and a brow raised,he asks Akane"The hell are you eating?"  
  
Akane mindlessly looks up from her plate and answers with her mouth full"Well,food!Duh!"Fuyuhiko lets his eyes roll down to the plate containing that supposed 'food' Akane is gulping down,his expression stays the same. _Well,thanks for confirming that._  
His head snaps up when Akane holds out her hand,holding a piece of her 'food' out to Fuyuhiko.It looks like she's offering a bit of it to the way she lightly moves it in the air,causing a bit of the sausage to drip on the table.  
  
Without any thought,Fuyuhiko immediatly raises his hand in halt,his expression still disgusted."No,thanks."Although he just rejected her,she doesn't seem to mind the slightest.She actually seems relieved and happy."Well,that leaves more for meh!"And so,she shoves the piece of food she was holding out for Fuyuhiko in her mouth.Surprisingly,no sausage or saliva leaks out of her lip.  
  
"Say,how long have you two been here?"Fuyuhiko asks out loud,making sure Sonia hears him too from the other side of the restaurant.So does she,and she turns around to face the two others behind her.She innocently puts a finger on her chin and looks up."Hmm?I do wonder...But if I had to guess,I would say..."she pauses to think.She takes her hand away and looks directly at Fuyuhiko."Maybe...twenty minutes or so?"  
  
"Ah,I arrived something 'bout an hour max.Maybe,fourty minutes?Who knows?Who cares?"Akane shrugs,then shoves even more food in her already full mouth.Fuyuhiko crosses his arms and looks down at his feet,his eyebrows furrowed. _So there's a time separation of twenty minutes between two person's arrival..._  
Sonia worriedly cocks her head."Is there something on your mind,Fuyuhiko?"  
  
"Ah."Fuyuhiko's head shoots up at Sonia."Well,I was thinking about how Akane arrived fourty minutes ago,you arrived twenty minutes ago and I just arrived.Considering this,I guess it's safe to assume that he'll arrive within the next twenty or fourty minutes."  
"Oh,"Sonia smiles."that is indeed a smart deduction you make there."Fuyuhiko smirks,his eyes meeting Sonia's."Hmph,'course it is."

 "Bubblegum head better finds a way to wake the others up,'cause I need my daily training,y'know...!"Akane complains after have swallowed the last piece of her 'dish'." 'cause,no offense but you two suck at hand to hand combats."she continues,pointing at the two.Sonia slightly frowns."I do not intend on contradicting you,but I think it is wrong to judge a person's strength by their appearances.Like they say:don't judge a house by its outside."  
  
Fuyuhiko makes a sighing face and almost lets out a groan."It's 'Don't judge a book by its cover',Sonia..."  
Akane leans back with her chair and crosses her arms behind her head to support it."I'm interested in sparring with strong and muscular dudes,and I can clearly see that you two don't have anything good to show off for what's about a fair fight without using any weapon."she pauses,then goes on,causing Sonia to shut her mouth.  
  
"I decided myself that people under seven are boring and too soft.If you're a seven or a higher level,then I'll consider sparring with ya.But,like..."Akane rolls her eyes towards Sonia and even points a finger at her."Sonia's probably a two.That's way to low to meet my standards."  
"Well,I do not fight with my bare hands anyways.What kind of princess would I be otherwise?"Sonia gently smiles,her head slightly tilted."But then,what about Fuyuhiko?He is a yakuza.He's had loads of fights,I assume."  
  
For a moment,Fuhuhiko doses off from their conversation,but immediatly turns his head towards the person that just mentionned his name.When he registers the whole question,he soon turns his attention back on the view he has from the window.He wouldn't join the discussion if it isn't for Akane's answer."What?Baby gangsta?No way,his ranking is even lower than yours!"Fuyuhiko violently turns his head to face Akane and grits his teeth."Are you saying I'm weaker than some fucking princess that never saw a corpse in her entire life?!"he rages.  
  
Sonia immediatly sets a halt to his words and wears a serious expression as well."Take your words back,Fuyuhiko.I did see numerous corpses in my past,and I am not referring to our adventure in the Neo world."Sonia frowns even deeper and looks away from Akane and Fuyuhiko."In fact,all of us already witnessed and caused murder in our past..."That single sentence causes Fuyuhiko to fall silent,as well as Akane that now looks sad,too.  
  
It takes a moment to Sonia to notice her mistake,and she immediatly apologies."O-Oh,my bad.I-It wasn't my intention to darken the mood..."she hesitates,a bit embarassed."U-Uhm,please erase my last words."She shows an apologetic smile to cover up her awful embarassment.Sonia turns around to continue to feed the four Dark Devas of Destruction,but only Jum-P remained in the cage,but Maga-D,San-D and Cham-P aren't anywhere to be seen anymore.Sonia immediatly begins to panick and wanders her eyes accross the whole room,then walks in circles in search for the lost Dark Devas of Destruction.  
  
"Hey,baby gangsta-"Akane starts,Fuyuhiko complains between his gritted teeth."Stop fucking calling me that.I have a name for something,dammit!"  
"But baby gangsta totally fits you and is easy to remember,compared to..."Akane suddenly trails off,cocking her head."Uhm,what's your name,again?"She wonders after have asked him that as she looks up at the ceiling,Fuyuhiko deadpans. _Are you fucking-..._  
  
"I know it was something with a 'K' or somethin'..."she still wonders,Fuyuhiko holds back the urge to facepalm _.At least,I know she's not joking about it...Wait,that's even more troubling._  
Fuyuhiko sighs as he crosses his arms and legs.He looks out the window and growls out"It's Fuyuhiko,better fucking remember it."  
"Yeah,that's it!"Akane exclaims with a wide smile."I knew it was somethin' like that...!"she proudly grins.Fuyuhiko doesn't even care enough to react anymore.

"I'm just the worst at remembering people's names.I keep on forgetting,and I don't know why.But it's friggin' annoying,I can tell ya."Akane apologies with a not so apologetic smile."Man,I'm still so fricking hungry,ya know?'she rubs her stomach and frowns. _I can't believe she's still so hungry after have swallowed a whole plate of...something I hope was edible,for her._  
  
As if on cue,a small being hops in front of Akane and lands directly in the plate that still rested on the table.Imediatly,Akane starts to drool and looks ready to jump on the small hamster,like a predator making himself ready to attack its prey.Thankfully,Sonia jumps in in time,causing her to fall on the table and saving Fuyuhiko from witnessing an hamster being eaten up alive.Once she gets off the table,Sonia holds the hamster tight and close to her chest and gives Akane a deep frown."Are you out of your mind?!Do you know what you were about to do,Akane?This is considered as murder in my homeland!"  
  
"It's not like Monobear-thing was here to execute me or anything..."She suddenly starts to drool,and a comical,goofy smile appears on her face."Besides,I never got to taste a hamster.It looks yummy,too...!"Sonia's face suddenly flashes horror and she jumps away from Akane in fear as she lets out a small shreak.She leads the hamster in the cage and safely closes it afterwards.She then allows herself to let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

After a while of panicking and small bickerings between the three,the all uselessly stare into the non-existence and driff to their own thoughts.Akane lays down on the table,her arms crossed to support her head and looks out the window.Fuyuhiko didn't have enough energy to move from his seat and simply looks through the window too,as his chin rests in the palm of his hand.As for Sonia,she silently and playfully pokes the Four Dark Devas of Destruction through the cage,but to note from her facial expression,she's obviously lost in her own sea of thoughts too.  
  
Nothing fills the silence in the restaurant,exept the ocean gently rocking and Fuyuhiko's stomach growls.Akane would add a comment here and there about how he was better off accepting her kind offer of food,but it's mainly silence in the restaurant.Until he came.  
  
Footsteps are faintly audible,and they progressively become louder,until a familiar shaped shadow appears.From behind the windows emerges someone.Fuyuhiko is the first one to notice him,since Akane sits her back facing that person and Sonia sits a few tables further.Fuyuhiko doesn't immediatly reacts at his arrival,the latter makes sure to make himself noticed without any help.By only hearing his voice and words,it's not difficult to guess who just arrived.  
  
"Miss Sonia!"  
  
Kazuichi glues his face to the window in disbelief,but with a wide smile plastered on his face,showing off his collection of sharp shark teeth.Hell,even his eyes have sparkles.Akane doesn't care enough to turn around and check Kazuichi,she simply stays lost in her own thoughts.Fuyuhiko and Sonia,however,have unexplainable expressions.One would say they look relieved that he finally arrived,another would say they're disgusted from his arrival.If they could,they would run away from the boy,especially Sonia.But Kazuichi is needed to save their comrades,their classmates.Plus,where would they run off to,anyway?

Kazuichi pulls the window open and closes it again when he's fully inside the restaurant.Kazuichi's sparkly eyes don't leave Sonia's figure,and he could jump on her if it isn't for Fuyuhiko to hold him back and not wasting time.He shoots up from his seat and directly adresses Soda."Hey,Kazuichi!" The called person turns around,his smile lightly becomibg smaller."Ah,hey Fuyuhiko."he greets,obviously sounding less hyped than when he called out Sonia's name.  
  
"Now you're here,I'm going straight to the point."He crosses his arms and glares intently at Kazuichi,who sends him a confused look."Huh?Is there something going on?"Fuyuhiko frowns."Shouldn't you have guessed it once you arrived here?"he notes.Kazuichi gently scratches his own cheek as his smile completely fades."Yeah,well.I thought it was kind of strange to recognise the island in the first place.As I thought more deeply about it,I supposed you were all here as well,and I guess I was right."he forces a smile and shruggs."Though,I admit it's super strange.Why're we even here?"  
  
Fuyuhiko simply answers"We were brought here."he pauses."At least,that's our deduction."  
"Our?"Kazuichi raises an eyebrow."Did you all agree on that?"Akane finally joins in the discussion and nods with the two others."I mean,there's no other logic enough explaination."Fuyuhiko answers."Anyways,-"  
"B-But,wait!H-How,who,why?!" Kazuichi suddenly starts to freak out,Fuyuhiko holds up a menacing fist and grits his teeth at Kazuichi."Hey,fucker!Don't cut me off like that!I was just going to explain it to you!"  
  
Sonia willingly takes a relucant step closer to Kazuichi and opens up her mouth."If we know who sent us here,I think their purpose will become clear enough."she starts seriously."I personally believe that those persons we met in the simulation;the survivors of the kiling school game that occured at Hope's Peak Academy and members of the Future Foundation,are the ones who brought us here."Kazuichi blinks in surprise."What?Those dudes?"he let out in surprise.Fuyuhiko frowns."Well,we can't think of anyone else."he answers."Yeah,that pink bunny and that other girl that liked games were totally killed off,and if we were brought here by that AI,then we're really fucked."  
  
Fuyuhiko cringes at Akane's words,who seems pretty proud after have said those words and have been 'helpful'. _That girl's hopeless..._  
"As for why we were brought here..."Sonia trails off."Well,I think you should check it out yourself."Fuyuhiko nods in agreement,Kazuichi looks back and forth,to Sonia,then Fuyuhiko and back to Sonia,with a face that shows utter confusion."Huh?"Kazuichi lets out."W-What are those understanding looks for?"he asks,confusion clear in his voice.Fuyuhiko cracks his fingers and gets up."I'll show him.You,follow me."He already takes a few steps towards the stairs leading to the lobby,passing by Kazuichi who doesn't look very confident.

"A-Anyone comin along?"Kazuichi cowers and nervously sweats.Fuyuhiko sighs in annoyance and turns his head back to face the pinkhead."Dude,I'm not gonna kill you,as much as I have a dozen of reasons to kill you off.Now get your ass here and follow me."Without adding any word,he turns around and begins to walk down the stairs,expecting Kazuichi to follow behind.Meanwhile,Kazuichi debates between his own will that tells him to not follow the yakuza and the intense look that Sonia is sending him,that literally obligates him to follow Fuyuhiko.With a bit of a bad feeling,Kazuichi turns around and goes down the stairs too,very slowly and on shaky legs,though.  
  
There,at the end of the staircases,is Fuyuhiko waiting with his hands hid in his pockets and his eyebrow slightly twitching.He also intensely glares at Kazuichi that walks down the stairs.He eventually speaks up."Am I so scary...?"he let out in annoyance.Although he doesn't wait for an answer,he still does get one."...Yakuzas in general are scary..."Kazuichi hesitantly answers,and doesn't know if he should regret his words or not.Fuyuhiko sighs as Kazuichi steps off the last staircase."We need you,for now,so it'd be really stupid to kill you off right now."He turns around and directs himself behind the stairs with a still nervous Kazuichi at his tail. _D-Did he add the 'right now' on purpose...?_

He doesn't have time to stay with his thoughts fixed on that once he notices Fuyuhiko has stopped in his tracks,in front of a door he has never seen before."Huh?What's that door?"he asks,his nervousness obvious in his voice.Fuyuhiko lets out a small "Heh" then turns around his head to show Kazuichi his smirk."You'll know soon."Kazuichi looks completely lost,but Fuyuhiko pays no attention to that.Fuyuhiko holds the doorknob,and with a clicking sound but no cracking sound,the door flies open.Immediatly,Kazuichi discretely peeks inside from behind Fuyuhiko's small figure,wich isn't all that difficult since he's like a head or two taller than him.  
  
From afar,he can't make much out,but he's sure of one thing,that room sure needs more lightning,and looks rich in technology.As soon as Fuyuhiko steps a foot inside,his shoes make a clicking sound that echooes through the whole room,and Kazuichi follows in with bewildered eyes that miss nothing in the room,except for the main things standing at the very center of the room.He only gets to notice them when he accidentally bumps into Fuyuhiko that stopped.To have a better view,he steps next to Fuyuhiko and glares at what's in front of him,until his brain registers what's exactly in front of him:numerous pods,and they look occupied,too.  
  
Kazuichi blinks at Fuyuhiko,who looks straight in front of him with no specific expression on his face.He slowly walks over to the closest pod,leaving Kazuichi behind in confusion.He needs time to react and join Fuyuhiko to that exact same pod.He mimics Fuyuhiko by looking at what that pod contains and immediatly,he reacts.He first frowns and squints his eyes. _Hmm,she looks familiar...Wait,isn't that...?_  
When he recognises those features;face,hair,clothes,he yells in surprise and gets a step back,causing him to bump into another pod."Wh-What the hell?!What's she doing here?!"He quickly turns around and looks into the pod behind him,then faces Fuyuhiko again."What are they all doing here?!"

"They have to be _somewhere_...No?"Fuyuhiko shruggs,emphasizing the 'Somewhere'."Actually,them being here is more than logic,I think."  
"Huh?Well,alright.But what does it have to do with us,with why we're here?"Kazuichi scratches his cheek.Fuyuhiko frowns and gets ready to explain him their hypothese."Remember what those members of the Future Foundation told us?About how they were all put in a comatose,and that the possibility for them to wake up was near to zero?"He pauses,leaving a small moment of silence for Kazuichi to reply with anything.However,he doesn't use that small moment and keeps silent.Fuyuhiko goes on."We did quite complain about our friends back there.And we agreed on waking up in our Despair forms,right?"  
  
"Isn't it strange?How we're all sane and that our friends are resting here,in pods?Don't you think it's a strange coincidence?"Fuyuhiko makes a small smile.We could think that those are all big coincidences,or that something went wrong when they tried to send us home."Fuyuhiko closes his eyes for a moment."But I'd rather believe that we were sent here on purpose."Kazuichi gives him a weird look as he forces himself to search for the meaning of his words."...O-On purpose?"Fuyuhiko nods,but keeps his eyes closed."Our guess is that we were brought here to wake them up from their comatose.And if thats really what's happening..."Fuyuhiko pauses for a short moment."Then it means that Future Foundation really is our ally and that they're really trying to help us out."  
  
Kazuichi attently listens to Fuyuhiko's explainatation and slowly begins to register all the information he's getting from the short blond.And as he thinks deeper about it,he concludes himself that Fuyuhiko's reasoning makes pretty much sense.It's all linked together,he thinks.But then the same question that had passed through the others' minds also passes by his.A single tear of cold sweat rolls down his cheek as he scratches the back of his neck with a small smile."I...don't wanna be pessimist,but um..."he pauses and rolls his eyes towards Fuyuhiko."How're we gonna do that?"

That's where you come in."Fuyuhiko smirks as he points a finger at Kazuichi,then slowly moves it up to point at what's standing next to him.It seems like that strange pillar is somehow connected to the pods containing their comrades."You see that?The pods are somehow powered by that,that's how they keep looking normal and healthy instead of skinless corpses."he explained."Maybe if we tamper with it,it'll wake them up."He lowers his hand and hides it again in his pocket."And by we,I mean you of course.'Cause your the Ultimate Mechanic,right?"  
  
Kazuichi closes his eyes to be in his thoughts _.So that's what it's about..._  
Kazuichi reopens his eyes and looks up at what he's apparently going to spend a lot of time on. Usually,Kazuichi prefers to work on smaller things,that fit in his hands or that he can at least carry because his biggest hobby has always been to dismentle them.He did that a lot back then in his old man's garage and place to keep himself entertained,because it was already hard enough for him to pay the bills and rents in time,he didn't have money in spare enough to spend on things like toys,computer games or even a phone.  
  
Their poverty would often lead to their fridge,tv or water faucet to not work properly or break.And with time passing by,he became more found of small machineries and he'd have that sudden excitement growing in him everytime he'd be near any kind of machinery,especially smalls one since they were easier to dismentle.But that doesn't mean he doesn't like to dismentle big types,in fact they bring him more excitement since they're more difficult to completely dismentle and rebuilt.Really,dismentling things is definitely his thing.Maybe that's where his personal fetish of checking out girl's bones structure comes from?

He brings a hand to his chin and turns around to face the 'pillar',the power source of the pods.He silently examines it from outside,running his eyes all over it.Until a wide smile draws itself on his face,showing off his perfectly white sharp teeth.Without looking away from the pillar,he pours his hand in his upper pocket at his chest area and reachs for his best companion and friend,his shiny wrench.He easily twirls it around his index finger to then tightly catch it in her hand.He barely turns towards Fuyuhiko to keep the pillar in his view perimeter.With a as calm as possible voice,he answers."I'll see what I can do."  
  
"Alright,"Fuyuhiko sighs in relief and turns on his heel."Then I'll leave it tou you."The sound of Fuyuhiko's shoes echo through the whole room as he stomps away,his hands casually hidden in his pantspockets.Kazuichi quietly stares at Fuyuhiko leaving the room,though he stops right when he opens the door and turns his head around."Call for help if you need any,alright?"he speaks then closes his eyes."Well,see you."With that,he closes the door and directs himself towards the stairs. Meanwhile,Kazuichi turns around and faces the pillar again with an excited,wide grin.He rubs his hands together,still holding the wrencher in one hand and lets out an excited shout."Now it's between you and I,my friend~!"

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3

END

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now on,the updates will be waay slower than that.I'm trying to update every month,wich isn't always possible for all my stories.  
> For those who are wondering,I originally write this story on Wattpad.I first publish it on Wattpad,then paste it here on AO3.If you want to,you can check it out on my Wattpad.[Username @WriterSempai ]
> 
> See you next time~


	4. ×Fourth×

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime arrives, and Fuyuhiko thinks more often about Peko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the note at the end of this chapter for more info

Boring,is his only thought of all the past weeks spent in the simulation.  
  
Utterly boring.  
  
Uncool and boring.  
  
His right eye stings a little bit,but it doesn't make him uncomfortable,he easily deals with it.  
  
_I want to go anywhere,I just want to get out of here.I'm too bored in here._  
He uselessly floats in the non-existence,his tie fluttering in the air.Unfortunately,he doesn't have his long hair that could distract him just a small bit by defying anti gravity.No,actually even that would be boring and not entertaining enough for a flawless being like Kamukura Izuru.

Hajime is suddenly blinded by a too strong light,he eventually squints his eyes so it wouldn't hurt his eyes.But he doesn't completely closes them or even look away.Next thing he knows,he lands butt first onto the warm seasand.Hajime stares at his hands hid in the warm sand and then awkwardly begins to make circles with them.A low "Hhmm..."escapes his lips.  
  
Hajime gets up and undusted his clothes from the sand and walked away.He soon exited the beach and wandered his eyes around.Of course,he's surprised to even be able to recognise this island.He's even more surprised when it hits him that the island still exists in real life.An uncouscious smile appears on his face. _This might be...interesting,for once._

* * *

"Ah,Hajime's there-Uhh...What's up with your eyes?"Akane greets all smiles,then her expression turns into wonder.Fuyuhiko and Sonia both turn and check on Hajime,both also frown in wonder. Hajime,however,seems more confused than his three other friends and uncousciously brings a hand to his eyes."Huh?What are you talking about?"  
  
"Your left eye is all red."Akane shortly answers.Hajime raises an eyebrow as he doesn't really understand why his eye is red."Huh?What?It's red?"he aimlessly questions and scans the three others in the restaurant,they all nod."That's weird...Well,as long as it's nothing big it's alright,I guess."he announces,the three others nod again.  
  
"So,"Hajime drops in a nearby seat."Anyone has any idea why we're here?"He drops his hands on his knees.Fuyuhiko is ready to speak,but Sonia's voice comes up before his."We believe this is all Future Foundation's doing."Hajime raises an eyebrow at Sonia."Huh?You mean Naegi and the others?"Sonia nods."But why'd they send us here?"  
  
"Well..."Sonia starts.She slowly turns her head towards Fuyuhiko and glares intencely at him,trying to send him a message that the latter seems to understand.He raises his voice."...Why me?Can't you do it yourself?" Fuyuhiko doesn't get any oral answer,but he clearly understands that it's no use to discuss it further,less with an Ultimate Princess.As much as she seems innocent and harmless,she's actually able to give you goosebumps with a simple look.  
  
With iritation obvious on his features,Fuyuhiko shoots up from his seat and clicks his tongue in the process.With his hands shoved in his pockets,he immediatly directs his body towards the staircases,not even facing the three others."Follow me,Hajime."he mutters,loudly enough for the adressed person to hear it.Without checking if Hajime did get up to follow him or not,he starts walking down the stairs.He felt a bit better when he hears Hajime's footsteps behind him,signaling him that he didn't get up from his chair for no reason.

He stops in front of the door and waits for Hajime to catch up with him.When he notices the door Fuyuhiko is standing in front of,his brows suddenly raise in surprise."Was that door also in the simulation?"he asks.Fuyuhiko turns around to face the door and puts his hand on the doorknob as he shrugs."No idea." Fuyuhiko easily turns the doorknob and pushes the door open.And he sets foot in this room,for the thirth time in less than an hour.  
  
It takes a bit of time for Hajime to register all what was visible in the room,as well as Kazuichi.Though the latter probably didn't hear the door open as he's loudly busy trying to tamper with the source of the pods.Hajime finally speaks up after have scanned the whole room with round eyes and have taken a few steps forwards following Fuyuhiko's."What...is this room?"  
  
Fuyuhiko lightly smirks as he halts in front of one of the pods.Next to him is Hajime,still looking here and there,but not at the pod in front of him.Not until Fuyuhiko demands so."Look over here."He mentions to the pod with his head and watches as Hajime takes a few steps closer to the pod and leans over to check out its content.Hajime's eyes shoot wide open when he discovers what the pod contains.He immediatly recognises that person,even though he isn't used to her adult form.

_T-That is...!_

  
Hajime takes an instinctive step back."W-What..."Fuyuhiko walks closer to Hajime and has his mouth already opened.He stops close enough to him to make sure he heard him speak."What Sonia said...Our hypothese is that Future Foundation sent us here to try to wake them up."Hajime,still surprised of his discovery keeps blinking in surprise,his jaw dropped." 'F course, that's just a simple hypothese,but we're already working on it,to see if our guess is right or not."  
  
And as if on cue...  
  
Soda suddenly emerges from behind the sci-fi looking pillar and waves with his dominant hand that holds a screwdriver."Ah,guys.I knew I heard voices!Hey,Hajime.When did you arrive,buddy?"Soda then suddenly grimaces."And what the fuck is up with your eye?"he points at the adressed person.Hajime brings a hesitant hand to his face and trails off."Well,uh..."  
  
Fuyuhiko casually cuts in.He literally takes a step in front of Hajime and glares directly at Soda."I see you already started.So you found a way to wake them up?"Soda's grimace slowly fades as he takes a step aside to fully show his body that was hid pehind the pillar."Ah,well.Not really."he scratches the back of his neck and looks away."I'm just trying to take a look at the inside to see what could be tampered with.Momentally,all I can see are wires.But there are so much of them I need to make sure wich I can connect together and wich I can cut off,and see what result it'll give."

Fuyuhiko crosses his arms and merely tilts his head."So you're still examinating the thing,eh?"  
Soda drops his hand and twirls the screwdriver in his hand."Yeah.But understand that I need time."Soda adds.Fuyuhiko and Hajime nod in agreement and unison."Don't worry,we totally get that."Fuyuhiko replies."We're already thankful enough to have a mechanic with us.The Ultimate Mechanic that is."  
  
Soda puts a hand to his chest and proudly smiles and chuckles. Fuyuhiko frowns and points a sudden finger at Soda."You better not mess it up."Soda suddenly tenses up and automatically holds up protective hands."I-I won't!"  
"Good."Fuyuhiko turns his back to Soda."Then we'll leave you to work."He casually walks towards the door and speaks up without stopping."You coming,Hajime?"Even though it sounds like a question it isn't an actual one.It's not like a order either,but more like a fact,let's say.  
  
Hajime is quick to understand and hurries to catch up with Fuyuhiko and closes the door behind him,leaving Kazuichi in his little world of disassembling.

* * *

 "Hey,uh."Hajime hesitantly starts but then pauses.Taking advantage of that pause,Fuyuhiko hmms to signal Hajime that he's listening.Hajime goes on. "Do you know...how many pods there are?"  
"Huh?"Fuyuhiko raises a questionning eyebrow at his question.He wonders if Hajime's really interested in the number of pods or if he's desperately trying to bring up any kind of topic to talk about.If it's the latter,Fuyuhiko'd be really dissapointed then.But even in the other case,why would Hajime need the exact number of pods?  
  
Nevertheless,Fuyuhiko still gives him an answer."Ten."he turns his head away.Though he notices Hajime dropping his head."Ten,huh...Then we're only fifteen on this island."he quietly speaks.And Fuyuhiko isn't stupid enough to not understand his sudden mood.He understands his feeling although both aren't exactly facing the same situation.But he still understands Hajime's behavior and prefers not to deepen the wound.  
  
"Oi."Fuyuhiko drops a hand on Hajime's shoulder with a small smile and reaches for inside his pocket with his other free hand.His hand immediatly grabs the small piece of broken glass that Fuyuhiko is thankful that he still got to keep even IRL.He tightly holds it,still careful to not cut his hand."We'll save our friends and get off this island.It's a promise,right bro?"Fuyuhiko can't help but pull it out his pocket an show it off to Hajime in case he had forgotten about it.He lightly waves it back and forth with a daring smirk that's actually supposed to be a kind and assuring smile.But then again,Fuyuhiko's a yakuza and he barely smiled in his entire life.  
  
Hajime kindly chuckles and drops his hand in his pocket,only to take out his piece of broken glass."Brotherly promise,yeah."He shows it off in the same manner Fuyuhiko is and both start laughing with each other.In fear of losing it,they both hide their respective pieces back in their pocket.Fuyuhiko slips his hand off Hajime's shoulder,and the latter starts laughing again,much to the yakuza's confusion."What's funny now...?"  
Hajime calms his laughter down and flashes him a kind smile as he playfully put his both hands on his hips.Fuyuhiko's eyebrow starts twitching."Seriously,I don't get it."  
  
Hajime stops laughing and takes a whole step closer to Fuyuhiko until small inches separates them from each other.Hajime raises up a hand that he places at Fuyuhiko's forehead and brings it to his chest as he keeps the mesured height with his hand."You arrived right under my chest in the simulation.You totally grew up in two or three years time,or I became smaller."Hajime starts softly chuckling again,obviously teasing Fuyuhiko who takes off the first thing going through his mind,being his jacket,and throws it at his face as he pouts like a child and tch-s."Idiot."He doesn't turn to face Hajime and quickly walks up the stairs without waiting for Hajime who still stands downstairs with a goofy laugh and smile that's still covered by Fuyuhiko's jacket.

* * *

 

  
Evening soon came by and it quickly left place for nighttime.Everyone except for Kazuichi is still hanging out in the restaurant,Kazuichi still remains in the room with the pods and didn't come out of it since he entered it.As it grows darker,so does the survivors' sleepiness.Sonia and Hajime both took a seat closer to Akane's and Fuyuhiko's who sit at the same table.Everyone in the room wears that sleepy expression and has half lidded eyes.Everyone is even too tired to make any sound.  
  
Much similar to Akane's position,Fuyuhiko has his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he absentmindedly gazes through the same window Akane does.Sonia has her head resting on her arm as she gently pets the Four Dark Devas of Destruction with a single finger through the cage and her eyes about to fall closed.Hajime already gave up a while ago and is now soundlessly sleeping with his head burried in his arms.  
  
Somehow,the silence that fills the restaurant feels even more tiring.  
  
Akane groaned as she leans back and stretches out."Urgh,I'm kinda tired guys."She crosses her arms and let her head rest on them as support as she loudly yawns.Soon after her yawn ends,Sonia loudly straightens her composure and clears her throat.She rubs her eye as she speaks up."...I don't know what time it is,but I suggest we all go to sleep as soon as possible."  
"Hmm.I guess I'll sleep on the couch in the lobby."Akane suddenly announces,causing Fuyuhiko to straighten as well and react to her words."Why don't you just use one of the cottages?You know they're still here,right?"  
  
"Really?"Akane blinks in surprise."I didn't notice them or simply didn't pay them any attention when I arrived."She starts picking her ear and lets out yet another loud yawn.Sonia stretches out her arms and yawns as well."Someone has to go signal Kazuichi as well.We simply cannot let him have an all-nighter on this pillar looking source."Sonia arranges her long blonde hair as she continues."I am sorry to tell that I don't feel comfortable to go inform him as it means I would be left alone with this male,so I suggest one of you go do it.Pretty please."And as expected,Fuyuhiko can feel Sonia's strong stare on his back.He preferes to not turn back and confirm his gut.  
  
Hajime sighs as he lazily gets up from his seat."I'll be going.You lazy asses go sleep already."With that,he pushes back his chair and directs himself towards the staircase.The three others slowly get up from their seats as well and they all walk past Hajime as he ridiculously first knocks on the door before entering the room.  
Fuyuhiko,Akane and Sonia continue their way outside the hotel and they all halt at the spot separating the left and right side of cottages."Should we occupy the same cottages as in the simulation?"Sonia hesitantly asks.Fuyuhiko immediatly opens his mouth to answer."I don't think it's all that necesssary,but we should keep the boys and girls separated to avoid confusion."

 "Okay.Then I bid you all goodnight."Sonia gently smiles as she puts her hands together.She makes a small bow,that Fuyuhiko hesitates to return and to wich Akane immediatly bows back.With this,Sonia turns around and walks down the path until she stops in front of a certain cottage and enters it without any hesitation.Only Fuyuhiko and Akane are left.Though that doesn't last long,because as soon as Sonia dissapears in her chosen cottage,Akane loudly announces that she'll be leaving to her cottage as well.Fuyuhiko doesn't hold her back and gladly lets her depart for her cottage.Then only he remains.

_I want to drop dead in a bed as soon as possible..._  
  
As soon as he ends his thought,he also turns around,however he goes the other way and lazily lets his feet guide him to any cottage.Somehow,he can't get himself to sleep in what used to be Hajime's cottage and less in Nagito's and so he simply goes back to the same cottage he used in the simulation.He weakly kicks the door open and he's immediatly welcomed in a whole mess.Thankfully,the windows,the glass door leading to the bathroom and the bed aren't broken or too dirty,but there's old trash hanging around the whole room and the cupboard seems so fragile it'd break at any touch.  
  
Fuyuhiko still weakly smiles as he's not welcomed by any weird smells and without any effort,he literally drops dead in the bed that yes is dirty but still usable.Fuyuhiko doesn't even take the effort to take his shoes off and pulls the thin blanket over his body as he easilly falls asleep.

* * *

 

When he wakes up,Fuyuhiko feels strangely heavy.He has a hard time opening his eyes and his wildly growling tummy isn't helping at all.But surprisingly enough,he magically manages to actually get up and walk over to the door of his cottage.When he exites his cottage,he crosses ways with the Ultimate Princess.Like any princess,she doesn't have a bedhead like any normal person would have,or she woke up extra early to comb her hair.Fuyuhiko can be thankful to his short hair,he hasn't any need to style them and doesn't need to struggle with a bedhead every morning.He just needs to get them cut once in a time.  
  
Sonia is actually the one to have noticed Fuyuhiko's presence and the one to walk up to him to greet him as well.She approaches him with gentle steps and bops her head aside as she flashes the yakuza heir a beautiful smile that only princesses can master."Good morning,Fuyuhiko."she greets.Fuyuhiko,still a bit weak since he just got up,merely turns his head towards her and only perks his lips.He has no need to force a smile,and Sonia is fully aware of how he's not the type to smile either. Still,he greets her back."G' morning."  
  
"Did you get a nice sleep?"she asks as they both uncousciously start walking together to the hotel.Fuyuhiko isn't really sure if he slept good or not to be honest,je just slept.He was too exhausted to even think about it.Out of an automatism,he answers with what he can call 'empty words'."Yeah,I guess.You?"  
"I tried to."Sonia faints a smile."But it was quite difficult with all the debrits that were all over the place."she weakly smiles.Fuyuhiko raises an eyebrow at her."Ah,so you had to clean then?"  
  
"W-Well..."Sonia forces a confident smile upon her face,though it's obvious it's forced.Fuyuhiko knows a lot because of it.He also easily spots a tiny bit of embarassment on her features."I never did the cleaning before,so I am not experienced.All I did was wipe away the dirt from the bed."Sonia relaxes her expression,but she still looks embarassed."I was too exhausted to do more anyways..."  
Fuyuhiko doesn't need to question her lack of knowledge on cleaning as he already guesses the cause of it.A royalty never dirty their hands and they have a ton of maiden and butlers to do the chores.Well,Fuyuhiko and Natsumi never got to do chores themselves but at least they knew how to wash dishes and wipe the floor.  
  
But somehow he can understand Sonia's embarassment.She probably thinks it sounds ridiculous for a woman to not know how to clean.But again,a royalty doesn't need this kind of knowledge,so it doesn't really matter.Fuyuhiko doesn't feel the necessity to assure her,most probably because the only reassurment he can think of is the only one she probably got to hear a billions times already.So instead of running his mouth,he keeps quiet and so they enter the hotel without any other word exchanged.  
  
"Oi."

As they enter the restaurant they're greeted by a tired Hajime and an always so energetic Kazuichi.It actually sounds funny when you know that it should be the other way around since Kazuichi is the one who worked on that pillar since he arrived.None does immediatly notice Akane's absence and none of the two boys seem to have noticed Sonia and Fuyuhiko's arrival.  
  
"But aww,come one man...!You just sound like my old man."  
  
"Because I'm not fully awake yet...It's still early in the morning."  
  
"Then you'll do it with me once you're fully awake?"Kazuichi's eyes light up.  
  
"..."Hajime has a deadpanned face,that could even rivalise with his Izuru serious face.  
  
"Ahem."Fuyuhiko awkwardly clears his throat with one fist in front of his mouth and his other hand shoved in the pocket of his pants,next to him stands Sonia that's tightly holding her hands together as she waits for attention or explanations as well.Both boys turn their head towards the duo.Hajime barely turns his head and only blinks at them as he gives them a small wave,Soda already weared a wide smile but it only widens at the sight of his ultimate crush,causing the latter to take an instinctive step back.  
  
"What were you two even talking about?"Fuyuhiko wonders as he awkwardly scratches his freckled cheek.Hajime and Kazuichi exchange a quick look before Kazuichi suspiciously exlaims"Nothing...!"Not paying much more attention to it,Fuyuhiko simply brushes it off and takes a seat next to Hajime.Well,that's what he planned on doing before he got his seat snatched away by Sonia.Fuyuhiko gives Sonia a blank look that literally says'Are you freaking serious right now?',with Sonia looking back with an (not so) apologetic smile.Actually,her face obviously yells out fear and disgust towards the pinkhead sitting across her.  
  
"...Whatever."Fuyuhiko mutters under his breath as he scratches the back of his neck and relucantly takes a seat next to the mechanic.Fuyuhiko doesn't have a special liking to Kazuichi,nor does he really hate him either.If he could choose,he'd definitely pick fof Hajime since he's more open minded,less of a coward and most important less or even not a pervert.But he has to admit it,he totally understands how Sonia has more issues with Kazuichi.Fuyuhiko isn't going to play bastard by putting Sonia through hell with Kazuichi and probably causing a rape in the end,so he ends up taking the seat next to Soda.  
  
"Are we waiting for Akane-san for breakfast?"Sonia wonders when Fuyuhiko drops onto his seat."I suppose so,yeah."Hajime answers.He then raises up his hands."But uh,I'm wondering now... _What_ are we going to eat for breakfast?"At the mentionning,everyone at the table comes to realisation and starts wondering as well."Now that you mention it,that island was inhabited for years.I'm pretty sure all those products at the market are all rotten and overdated."Kazuichi states,a hand to his chin as he looks through the window."It's in situations like these that a fool like Hanamura is useful,ugh."he sighs.

Hajime and Fuyuhiko give Kazuichi the same deadpanned look. _You're no better..._  
  
"Uhm,by the way Sonia."Fuyuhiko cautiously starts."Did you leave those hamsters in your roo-"Sonia suddenly raises her voice as she hit the table with her hand and raises her other hand." _You fool!_ Do not treat the Four Dark Devas of Destruction like mere _pets_!"Sonia exclaims as if opposing to someone's words in a political debate.Fuyujiko only sweatdrops.He hesitates before he makes a second try."....Did you leave _the Four Dark Devas of Destructio_ n in your room?"he repeats,slowly speaking out the replaced part.Sonia seems to have calmed down and she sits back on her chair as she aknowledges his new formulation.  
  
She fixes her hair as she answers his question."I indeed left them in my room,after I made sure the cage was nicely closed of course.Why?"She blinks to Fuyuhiko."...And you locked your room as well,right?"Kazuichi raises up an eyebrow.So does Sonia."What are you trying to get at...?"Fuyuhiko is the one to give her a proper answer."In short,Akane could gulp them all down."he shrugs. Kazuichi silently nods in agreement."What'cha talking about?I didn't even eat them."Akane's voice suddenly echooes throughout the restaurant and the four other's ears.  
  
"A-Ah!Am I hearing voices-!"Kazuichi suddenly starts,until he gets cut off by the same voice."Dude,I'm just here."Akane drops her hand on his shoulder.Kazuichi panicks at the sudden contact and jumps out of his seat,letting out a rather girly shreak.The three remaining cover their ears from his loud voice.After a nice and long laugh session Akane pulls out a chair and drops it at the small table with the others,she then drops on the chair and she lets out a small gasp when she collapses on the chair.  
  
"So,you guys already ate?"she asks everyone,Hajime is the one to answer as he shakes his head."Not yet.We were wondering what we'd get to eat."  
"But isn't there a shop somewhere on that island?"Akane wonders as she tilts her head with an eyebrow raised and her mouth making a weird grimace."It's not like the simulation here."Fuyuhiko raises his voice."All the food here's without a doubt overdated."He shakes his head and has his arms crossed.  
  
"Actually,"Kazuichi suddenly starts,raising up his index finger."We could get some melons or coconuts."At his statement,some light up.But before anyone could word their thought,Kazuichi drops his cheek in his hand with a weak sigh."We'll just need something sharp and strong enough to cut either in five."Fuyuhiko sighs as well,though his sounds heavier than Kazuichi's.His eyes diverts to the view he has on the cyan ocean through the mirror and the first thought that gets through his mind is obviously _'If only Peko was here...'_

Somehow,his facial expression should've looked worried or sad because as soon as Fuyuhiko ends his thought,he feels a sudden hand on his shoulder.When he turns,he gets to face a whole row of shark teeth. Fuyuhiko makes sure to not look too worried and faints a small smirk that's supposed to be a smile.  
Akane shoots up from her seat and puts her hands on her hips as she proudly announces"Don't even worry 'bout that.If I have to,I'll break them with a kick!"She then starts chuckling.  
  
"Akane,this is not a very feminine thing to do or even say..."Sonia faints a kind smile as she faces Akane."We should leave the boys to it."  
"Hmph."Akane slaps her tricep with her other hand as she makes a daring smirk,looking all 'pumped up'."Who cares about feminity?If it can get me food,then I'll gladly help!"she exclaims.Sonia doesn't reply.Kazuichi pushes his chair back and keeps his hands on the table."Welp,then let's go."Kazuichi slips behind Fuyuhiko and excitedly skips to the stairs."What are ya guys waiting for?Come!" Kazuichi then dissapears downstairs in the lobby.Akane is the first to react,she claps her hands together and departs for the stairs as well after have shouted a short"Let's go!"  
  
Fuyuhiko is the thirth to get up.He slowly gets up as he straightens his clothes and stretches out his arms.He then hides his hands in his pockets like he usually does."Guess we gotta go."Hajime and Sonia both make a nodding sound as they get up. Fuyuhiko is gone to walk down the stairs.

* * *

 The five young adults drop at the table as they all get the same seats with the only differences being Fuyuhiko and Akane switching seats.They also drop the twelve slices of melons they got thanks to Akane's skillful skills and strength.Yes,they're only three melons and twelve slices,but aren't they grown up enough to not fight for food?  
  
Actually,scratch that.Forgot about Akane.  
  
Everyone wears a smile with their slice of melon in hand.Unable to wait,Akane already starts munching on her food before anyone could say 'Thanks for the food.'As they Fuyuhiko starts swallowing down his first bite of his breakfast,Akane already starts munching on her second slice.The silence isn't really uncomfortable, mostly because it's not completely quiet.It's filled with Akane's rough eating.Nevertheless,Hajime gives in to break it and speaks up.  
  
"I was wondering last night,"Hajime gulps down his piece of melon."what will happen once all our friends woke up?What are we supposed to do?" Everyone turn their attentions to Hajime,also wondering about his words.Akane is the first to give an answer,that's interesting and actually logical,the others can give her that."Even though I like the blue sea and the sand,that scenery just looks tiring after a while."Akane shrugs."I guess we should try to find a way back home with everyone."  
  
"Not to mention that there's basically nothing left for us here.At least, nothing good."Kazuichi says after finishing his first slice.He reaches out for his second slice and starts eating it.Everyone nod at his statement in agreement.They can only at this point,too."So,then.How's it going with 'them'?Did you already find a way to wake them up?"Fuyuhiko asks. Kazuichi looks up from his breakfast to face the young yakuza.Fuyuhiko has to admit,he looks even more silly with his face a bit dirty due to the melons.  
  
Kazuichi awkwardly smiles."Ah,well I'm still investigating the thing.You know,just to be sure.I don't wanna miss on something important and then literally break it.I want to be sure of what I need to cut off and what I can't tamper with,because one wrong move and everything is over."He takes a quick bite,that he quickly swallows too."I was actually planning on working on it before while having breakfast,but here I am.But if my calculations are good,I'll be able to work on it starting tomorrow or even tonight if I get to stay up all night."  
  
Immediatly,Hajime cut in."No.You should at least have breakfast with us since you'll be closed in that room all day and night.So we can at least see your face and you see the outside light.It's not healthy to stay closed in 24/7 anyways."Kazuichi blinks in surprise,then smirks widely,showing off yet again his collection of shark teeth."Man,don't you sound like a worrying mother..."he mocks,causing the ex-Reserve Course Student to blush a bit of embarassment.Did he really sound like that?"And didn't it sound like you just undirectly said you missed my face?Hehe.But I guess you're right...Staying closed in isn't good for my brain either,I need to get some fresh air sometimes too."  
  
Hajime only manages to make a noddig sound.

"Phew,I'm full."Kazuichi then announces,gently patting his tummy.He suddenly gets up from his chair and pulls out a screwdriver from his pocket."Alright,let's get onto this."he smirks.Hajime shoots up from his seat with a worried expression."A-Already?Can't you stay a bit longer?"  
"No can do,Hajime."Kazuichi shook his head,his hands on his hips,still holding the screwdriver."Everyone's counting on me to bring back the others,and that's what we're here for,right?"  
  
Hajime slowly draws back his hand that he extended as he got up,and he slowly sits down on his chair."I-I guess so."With that,Kazuichi departs and dissapears from their sight for another 24 hours or so.

* * *

 

After have spent almost the whole day at the beach or his cottage,Fuyuhiko is now laid down in the warm sand at the beach of the first island.With his arms crossed that support his small head and his legs crossed,he plays a bit with one of his three rings and stares at the sky getting dark yet beautifuk colours.The sun is setting, it's also a message for the five survivors of class 77-B to go to sleep.Though Fuyuhiko feels tired,he at least wishes to watch the sun fully set before he goes to sleep.It's pretty obvious he's lost in thought as he doesn't even notice Sonia and Hajime's presence.Sonia had seated down a while ago,in silence of course,though Hajime just arrived.  
  
Even if it's silent,it's still calming and comfortable actually.  
  
_Another day spent on this cursed island...Shit._ Fuyuhiko quietly sighs as he closes his eyes for a small second."I wanna go home,dammit."he murmurs,sounding quite angry when it's actually supposed to sound sad.But again,we're dealing with a yakuza here.All of a sudden,a voice from behind him errupts and reacts to his words."...You're not the only one,Fuyuhiko."At that,Fuyuhiko violently turns around with wide eyes,it looks as if they're going to jump out of his eyessockets.Ew.There is Hajime and Sonia who is still seated in the sand,not toi far from Fuyuhiko but still closer to Hajime.Both wave.Fuyuhiko points an accusing finger towards them."S-Since when are you bastards here?You fucking scared me,dude!"  
  
Hajime raises his hands in surrender and speaks up before Sonia can make any remark on Fuyuhiko's foul mouth."Ah,sorry.Didn't mean to scare you,honest."Fuyuhiko turns back around and scratches his short blonde hair as he kind of hmph-s."Where are the two others anyway?"he suddenly asks,obviously changing of topic.Nice move.Hajime shrugs as Sonia confidently speaks up."Akane is having a solo training session before going to sleep.And that other boy still didn't come out of that room,so I suppose he is still workig on it."Hajime and Fuyuhiko sigh in unison."Yeah."Hajime passes a hand through his short,spiky hair."He's gonna do an all-nighter again..." Man,Fuyuhiko feels like saying'Poor guy...',but he easily gets over this feeling as it's about Kazuichi they're talking about,after all.  
  
"Well,guys."Hajime stretches."I propose we soon all go to sleep,yeah?" Sonia nods in agreement,Fuyuhiko yawns in reply."I'm actually feeling tored out,but I just wanna watch the whole scene of the sun set before goinf to sleep.I never really got to watch it before,so-"  
"What,really?"Hajime cuts him off,what surprisingly doesn't tick him off that much.Fuyuhiko undusts his tuxado and then drops his hands in the pocket of his pants as he looks up at Hajime and nods."Yeah.In my world,let's say there was no opportunity or time for it,so yeah." Fuyuhiko answers."But it's true I always wanted to watch one."

"Well then."Then Hajime suddenly drops in the sand in a sitting position,next to Sonia.Fuyuhiko raises an eyebrow at Hajime."What are you-"Hajime pats the spot next to him and flashes Fuyuhiko a wide smile." C'me here.We'll watch it together." Sonia silently nods in agreement.Her eyes burn with determination,and Fuyuhiko doesn't really know wether he should be scared or glad to have such companions-  
  
No,they're more than companions. After have spent a month together in a simulation,have gone through hell, a lot of despair and have survived as a team in the end,even though they lost a lot of people on the way,they ended up escaping anyway.They ended up victorious. They went through so much together, in only one month worth time that is. From now on,they can call each other 'friends' for sure.  
  
Fuyuhiko nods and slowly walks to Hajime,then drops onto the floor like Hajime did,though he keeps his hands hid in his pockets.He watches the sun still setting,with at his side his new friends Hajime and Sonia.Only Kazuichi and Akane are missing,but it still feels pretty good.The breeze gets a bit wilder and causes Sonia's hair and dress to flutter a bit harder,and oh so funny,it makes Hajime's ahoge twitch a bit.Fuyuhiko's hair is way too short for all that shit,so only his blazer flutters a tiny bit.  
  
The three watch the sun set in silence,and without being even conscious of it,Fuyuhiko smiles.He makes a true,happy smile,more prove how much he enjoys this moment.It's really calming,and somehow,a part of him wants this to last forever and to never end.A sun that sets forever,the same scenery that repeats over and over again 24/7.That'd be awesome, Fuyuhiko thinks as his tie starts fluttering in harmony with Hajime's.  
  
_I'm sure she would've liked it too..._ Fuyuhiko squints his eyes a bit as his smile remains,widens even.

* * *

 

"Phew,"Kazuichi wipes his forehead."And I actually thought it was more complicated than that..."he pouts."Scaring us like that,seriously Future Foundation..."He intentionally drops his screwdriver and soon joins in too.He keeps wiping off the sweat and dirt off him,even though he knows it's all useless.He then moves his head up and grins."Hehehe."He starts childishly chuckling to himself." See what Soda Kazuichi is capable of,haha.Losers.And you all said I was some 'ugly nerd',huh..."His smile becomes a bit shaky,his eyes start to water a bit as well.Kazuichi has to rub his eyes to wipe the tears away,and it irritates him since it causes his contacts to move."Argh,go away,tears!"  
  
Finally done with his issue,He leans backwards and hides his face in his hands as he gently lays his head on the floor."Fuck it,I'm starting to lose my mind,heheh.Look at me,talking to myself like that.I really must be lonely,huh..."He grunts,then yawns.  
"Nah,you're not." Akane talks back. Kazuichi jumps a feet up in the air and lets out that same girly shreak he let out this morning."D-Damn...S-Stop scaring me like that,Akane..."he trembles a bit,his eyes a bit red of the crying.Akane innocently raises a hand and drops the other on her hip."Stop being a scared chicken like that. You've got some nuts,don't you?"  
  
Kazuichi sighs at her remark and doesn't give an actual answer.Akane marches closer to him until she stops right in front of him and offers him a hand."Come,you gotta sleep."Kazuichi blinks at her hand."But I still gotta do and check some details and-"Akane boldly cuts him off."Can wait tomorrow.Now come,get up and go get some sleep."Relucantly,Kazuichi pushes himself up from the floor muttering a few forced Okay's as he doesn't leave his gaze from Akane. "You actually sounded like a mom there,y'know."He chuckles.Akane raises an eyebrow and spats."What the hell are you even saying?" Kazuichi suddenly deadpans and drops his shoulders."...Nevermind."  
  
Akane actually holds the door open for Kazuichi and then slams it closed,the sound of the door closing overlapping the sound of one of the pods open and the steam coming out of it.

 

 

 

  
Chapter Four

 

 

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry.  
> I was done with this chapter since last week, but I didn't have any wifi home for two weeks,I couldn't post it. Now it's here and I hope you enjoyed it.  
> I'm almost done with the next chapter,I just have it difficult with the upcoming one.  
> I guess you'll understand what I'm talking about when I get to publish it, because I'm not going to spoim anything ;)


	5. ×Fifth×

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ultimate Imposter makes a faithful encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check the end of chapter for information

_Hello_.

 

_Nice to meet you._

 

_...I don't know._

 

_Me?_

 

_Heh. Funny fact._

 

_I have no name,dear friend._

 

_No, wait. I'm actually---_

 

"Ow" I grumble as I rub the hit spot on my head. "No sleeping in class." As I look up, in front of me stands a woman with a rolled newspaper or magazine in her hand. I can't really tell, I just woke up-

_Wait, where the-_

I look at my surroundings. And I seem to be in a classroom.

_Oh, yeah. Right. Class 77-B, I remember_.

I turn back to face the orange headed woman in front of me. So, this must be...I carefully open my mouth to speak as my homeroom teacher patiently waits for. "...Sorry, Ms.Yukizome." I manage to mutter.The woman I just called 'Yukizome' just nods with a smile and strotters back to her own desk.

Yukizome Chisa, she's my homeroom teacher. I remember now. She has been our homeroom teacher for two good years, with one and a half year where she had to move into the Reserve Course as a teacher due to some issues with the school, I don't really know about the details.

I am a part of class 77-B from the Main Course of Hope's Peak Academy, wich obviously involves that I posses an Ultimate talent as well. However, I can't remember it. Strange.

If there is one thing I can tell you,is that I'm in my senior year at Hope's Peak Academy, so I'm almost or already an adult. My name is...

_I guess it's Ryota?_

"So, um...If I get it right..."Soda speaks up, also rubbing his head.Did he also got catched sleeping in class? No wonder, he sits at the front. "We dudes can't fall asleep in class but if it's Chiaki it's okay?! What the hell?!" Kazuichi raises his voice as he points a finger at Chiaki, who is indeed sleeping soundlessly with her hoodie on her head.

Out of nowhere, Yukisome pulls out a basket full of oranges, more presicely rotten oranges and drops it loudly on her desk. "I'm sorry? Do you have any complain, Kazuichi dear?" Yukisome menacingly smiles, her aura becoming dangerous. With a girly yelp that would've been called cute if it didn't actually came from a boy, Kazuichi slides down his chair in fear as he trembles as a leaf and hides himself under his brown bun. "N-N-No, N-No....Ehehe....."

Yukizome puts the basket away as she keeps her smile, though now it seems more angel like."Alright. Let us officially start homeroom now."

* * *

 

It is now lunchtime. Yukizome-sensei keeps on talking even when the bell already rang. But her story is interesting enough to listen to, I guess. We can't leave the classroom until she gives the signal, anyway. "Okay." Yukizome-sensei drops her hands on her desk as she speaks up. "Before I let you all go...I want to remind you about the anual exam that'll take place within two weeks already." As she says that, she holds up two fingers." So please don't forget about it and train as much as you can! I'll be supporting you all!" With that said, Yukizome-sensei gives us the permission to go eat.

I'm Ryota the lone wolf, I have no one to spend time with. I'm not your average teenager that has a group who he hangs put with, I'm always alone. But I suppose it is better this way. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate my classmates. No, I'm glad to be a part of class 77-B, really. And to be truly honest, I don't really mind loneliness that much...

Hmm, I wonder what desserts there are today.

I walk through the crowd of students as I try my best to pass through them. But unfortunately,there's too much people.Well,that is until I feel a hand suddenly grab mine in that sea of people and pull me through it with all force. I smoothly pass by everyone,not knocking anyone over actually and I make it alove in the cafeteria. How? I have no idea myself. I blink several times at my saver and straighten my school uniform. My face suddenly becomes weird when I get to discover that none other than my energetic classmate helped me through this crowd.And damn does she have some strength.

"Hello~" She waves grandly, even though I'm standing in front of her. I awkwardly greet her back with a quiet "Hello." She starts giggling. "Oh, Oh! Let me guess!" she excitedly jumps on her spot."Ryota-san is wondering why Ibuki would help him, right? Well~!" Ibuki separates her feet and puts her fists in her sides."It's because Ibuki-san wants Ryota-san to lunch with her~! Ahaha~." she cackles, her nose held high. She then leans in closer to me, her hands hid behind her back. "So~, does Ryota-kun accepts her request?" she aks with a daring yet cute smile.

'Ryota' is used to loneliness and doesn't really like having the spot on himself, but he can't deny that he doesn't appreciate some company, even if that company is as loud and energetic as Ibuki.Without really thinking, I nod my head as my mouth opens on its own. "...Sure." And as soon as I spoke out those words, I soon start to regret it because next thing that happens is that Mioda laughs loudly and literally throws herself at me. Before it'd get too late, I take a step back without much effort to be honest.

I'm not the type to enjoy hugs or any other sign of affection, and I am certainly not ready to crash my body against a woman's. I still regret having taken that single step at the sight of Ibuki's sad face. She sadly lowers her arms when she speaks up."...N-No hugs, I guess...?" she murmurs. And I can't help but reply with an emotional "Sorry." And how unbelievable it sounds(or not), Ibuki's bright persona appears again. "It's no big deal~. Ibuki can deal with that~!" She grins, her arms crossed. She then turns around sordier like and starts taking huge steps. "Abroad! " Ibuki points a finger in the distance at nothing in peculiar.

I deadpan and awkwardly keeps walking behind her as I still keep a reasonable distance between us, certainly not to avoid all the heavy looks of the other Ultimates and teachers.

* * *

 

If one word is to describe my lunchtime alongside Ibuki, it's without a doubt _tiring_. Sure, it was a change to have lunch with her, but she kept on rambling about random types of acronyms and insisted that I should join her music group.She also complained about her ex-friends and band members that she despises, I could tell from her words and the faces she made.But I am a lone wolf, I prefer silence over a fun surrounding. I'd rather lose myself in my own world, all on my own in the middle of an abandoned place over being at a nosy party surrounded by a crowd of friends having fun. I'd doze off in that situation anyway.

With wobbly legs and a tired expression, I drag myself to my classroom. On my way, as I don't even watch my own steps, I end up bumping into someone.When I take a step back and reopen my eyes, I realise I just bumped into a frail girl and even caused her to fall right on her buttocks.When I get to register her appearance,I realise the girl I made fall is Seiko, the Ultimate Pharmacist. As the gentleman that I am, I help the girl that shares the same age as me to get on her feet and offers her a hand.

She gets up without my help and completely ignores my hand. She picks up her bag as well and doesn't even give me a single look as she aims for behind me and starts running once she's on her two feet with the strap of her bag tightly held in her hand. I simply shrug it off and take my hand back. When I reach my classroom, I carefully enter it and discovers that I'm not the first one to have arrived, or better said the only one in this classroom. Knowing Chiaki, it's difficult to guess wether she lunched in the cafetaria with the others or spent her lunchtime napping.

I wobble to my desk and carefully drop on it. I cross my arms and adopt the same position as my currently napping classmate. I easily doze off.

Hope's Peak Academy is a privileged school reserved for talented or rich students, though the Main Course is only available for the students with a specific Ultimate talent. There exist useful and spectacular talents, as well as useless and, sorry for the vocabulary, stupid ones. The fact that it assembles a countless amounth of students with different patterns and spirits gives the school an even better image,though once you enter it you have your doubts about this school being an asile for crazy and brainless idiots. But at least it's not as boring as in a regular school, because wherever you dare to look there is entertainment.

I can't put my finger on it, but something seems different. It feels odd, for some reason today. Not to mention I still can't remember my talent, and I'm not even certain of my identity. Am I really who I say to be, Ryota?

"Eeeek~!" I hear a sudden high-pitched yelp, followed by a thud errupting from the floor. I easily recognise the yelp belonging to Mikan, and I restrain myself from getting up. I have no interest in watching a live fanservice moment. I decide to only get up when I hear the faint sound of Yukizome-sensei slamming her hands on her high desk.

Examinating the classroom, I notice that everyone already filled the room, and so quickly too. Yukizome claps her hands as she asks for silence and all our attention. She then turns towards the door and waves whoever is hiding behind it to come in. In our class enters a boy with an average height for a teenager. He has red eyes and and short spiky chocolate brown hair with a dangerously thick and spiky ahoge coming out. I suppose that is all what catches everyone's attentione as mostly everyone is literally gaping at the boy, some are even turning around and looking back and fourth from that boy to anyone else who posesses an ahoge as well.

_Doesn't he look a bit familiar...?_

The boy wears a bored expression as he examines the classroom and, what I suppose us to be, his new classmates. To my opinion, he seems a bit cloudy or blurry. Literally. He has a strange aura surrounding him. It's neither dangerous or stupid or even perverted. It's something I can't quite distinguish. All I can say is that it's really strong.

_Hmm, he intruiges me._

"Dear class 77-B. I know how sudden this is, but you will be welcoming a new classmate, freshly transferred from the Reserve Course." Yukizome calmly introduces the dreaming boy, following the way of a passing by fly with his eyes."I expect you to openly welcome աщфжצחגךדחש in your class."she warmly smiles, this whole time holding out a hand to the boy standing straight next to her.

I frown a bit, while everyone nod in understandment and some even smile. And is that Chiaki that is blushing? No way.

I hesitantly raise up my hand and get a nod from the teacher, the boy turns to face me."Um,excuse me. Could you repeat his name,please? I didn't hear it good enough."

"Oh,sure.He's ■tAoBlwWUלףם քքկպ  фтиельme."Yukizome-sensei smiles, her hands clasped together. From her expression, I can tell my frown definitely deepens. I even let out an unwanted"Huh?"

The boy tugs at his tie and suddenly speaks up. "Pozųzk×_£LYiW. It's LqNz×jQLlozuløsb Pozųzk×_£LYiW." He speaks with a serious face, I cringe even harder. But I end up sighing and giving up.

"Ahem."Yukizome clears her throat and turns towards our new classmate."Um,there is a seat free... next to Hiyoko."she points at said seat, Kazuichi snickers, Fuyuhiko hmph-s with a smirk.

"What?"Said loli exclaims.She shoots up from her seat and doesn't miss to slam her hands in her desk as hard as she can."No, no, no! I won't agree to this! I won't let this strange looking dude sit necxt to me!"Hiyoko starts shuddering as she hugs herself, her face starts turning pale."W-What if he turns out to be a d-disguised pedophile?" she trembles harder. Koizumi gently taps her shoulder from her seat with a helpless smile, the others including myself give her a weird look, all variating from person to person.

Even that new guy has an even more deadpanned expression than earlier.

Yukizome forces a smile on her features as she claps her hands once again."Come, come, Hiyoko. Let us welcome him with open arms in your class, yeah?"she innocently smiles and keeps her hands together with her head tilted. It somehow causes Hiyoko to have a sudden, strong shudder go through all her body and to change expressions to something more scared. She forces out a stuttering "Y-Yeah."

The boy slowly makes his way to his assigned seat, with Hiyoko pulling her own desk as far as possible from him and glues it against Mahiru's who sits right behind her. We all internally sigh.

Though I don't believe he is some rapist, pedophile or anything of the sort, I still have a weird feeling about him. What actually scares me is that I have no idea if it's something good or bad, meaning I don't know if I can allow myself to trust him somehow or sometime.

_It actually interests me even more. I want to know more about him._

But first, I should get his name. That'd be the least of the things to do. Oh,by the way. Nor Yukizome-sensei, nor that boy himself mentionned anything about his Ultimate talent. Hope's Peak Academy's Main Course only scouts or accepts 'Super High School Levels', so he should have one, right?

_That boy definitely is interesting..._

* * *

 

When the bell rings to signal us all the end of school, the new boy hasn't even the opportunity to get up from his seat, his desk is surrounded by all my classmates. Only a few like Peko, Fuyuhiko and even Kazuichi keep their seats. Spectacularly, Mikan doesn't trip over and arrives at his des safely. I don't think the new guy would've wished to see such thing happen. I actually have no idea, I don't know him. But I just naturally figure he's not like Teruteru.

Talking of wich, he doesn't leave his seat either. He seems to be...pouting? Is he jealous? I don't know how I should feel for him right now, in all honesty. But I admit there are a few I didn't expect to get up that currently are at his desk excitedly aksing him all variants of questions. People like Nagito-no, scratch that. That's actually pretty normal. But there's Chiaki, who was snoring a moment ago. Or even Gundham who never approaches people on his own and even threatens us whenever we get too close.

I actually can't find the strength to get up, so I simply eavesdrop and watch from afar. Well, eavesdropping isn't really too easy because of everyone talking at the same time, but I can make out their conversations and separate them by reading lips.

Firstly, everyone's makes a quick introduction of themselves.

Then Koizumi tries to figure out how 'manly' he is.

Nekomaru asks if he does any sports. He shakes his head.

Akane slams her hand on his shoulder, almost breaking it to my guess and to the sight of the boy's pained face. Somehow, it feels reassuring to see him show emotions. It'd be weird and awkward if he was the emotionless type.

Akane keeps laughing to her heart content, leaving the poor boy in pain.

Teruteru's suddenly decides to join in and asks about his favourite type of meal. He introduces himself in the process, with the status of the Ultimate Chef instead of his current and true status, the Ultimate Cook.

Ibuki then booms in and literally purrs against his arm, asking about his favourite music genre and if he could play any music instrument.He answers with a bit of a smile audible in his voice, but not visible on his face."...I don't play any music instrument, but I often played 'Osu!', so I suppose I have the rythm in me."

Like you guessed, Chiaki suddenly perks up and tries to get through the small crowd formed by her classmates. A serious expression on her face, Chiaki stops in front of the boy with their noses nearly touching, she slowly opens her mouth to say something."Y-You, seriously? You really played Osu! before? I love that game...! "Chiaki's excitement raises extremely fast."Why didn't you tell me sooner? We could've played it on my phone...!"

_What? What is she saying?_

"Chiaki?" Koizumi points a finger at the two as she continues."You know each other?"

"Ah."Chiaki turns around to fully face Koizumi and the others with her usual neutral face. She puts a finger to her lower lip."Yes,we met at the beginning of last year." She confesses, causing everyone to have the same reaction; take a step back in shock and scream out "Whaaat?", or dumbly fall off their seats, exactly like Kazuichi and I did.

_So,they already knew each other?_

"Ah,yes." Yukizome-sensei bops her head again with that closed eye smile of hers."I remember."

"You knew about it?" Kazuichi exclaims in disbelief, a small feeling of betrayal in his words.

"Now, now."Yukizome moves her hands up and down."It's all really fun and all, but I'd prefer it if you continued that introduction session out of this classroom. I have places to attend, sadly." she gently proposes.

"Sure, Yukizome-sensei. But first."Nagito turns to face the new boy. He takes a confident step closer to him with a daring smile."Now, we know your name, ķLSmIsh○kqo÷, your interests and pretty much of your likes and dislikes. But we forgot an important point." Nagito says, holding a finger up.

His words catch my attention as I'm still struggling on gettin on my feet. Thankfully, Peko is kind enough to help me out despite her deadly look. If her eyes were guns, she'd uncousciously kill anyone.

Am I not thankful I decided to keep listening.

Nagito puts a hand to his chin and asks the question."What is your talent? For what reason were you accepted here?"

And suddenly...

Silence.

Deep

Heavy

Silence.

Everyone stares at the boy, awaiting an answer. He's probably innerly cursing Nagito for pointing that out and making everyone's curiousity grow. But I just find it even more mysterious, how he doesn't want to share it with us.

Even Yukizome-sensei does feel the uneasiness in the air and cuts in with her loud claps."Come, come. What did I say? Continue that outside. Go eat something, go to the park, I don't know but get out of here now." Yukizome-sensei demands, pushing two or three pupils outside the classroom. To her demand and her act, the other have no other choice than follow her orders and exit the school building.

But as soon as everyone exits the classroom, the new boy vanishes from our sight.

"W-What?"Ibuki turns from left to right and vice verca."Where'd he go? Did he fly away?"She starts looking at the ceiling, then through the windows.

"Seems like he's gone..."Koizumi states.

"Hmph, good."Hiyoko crosses her arms, her bottom lip popping out."I started feeling uncomfortable around that pedophile, anyway."

"Hiyoko..."Koizumi trails off."You shouldn't judge people so quickly."

"Y-Yes,K-Koizumi-san is r-right...!"Mikan hesitantly speaks, she knows she'd regret it but said it anyways.

"You shut up, you smelly, big chested, airheaded, fat pork!"Hiyoko snaps, digging a sharp finger in Mikan's chest. I immediatly look away in respect, I catch Teruteru staring.

"Y-Y-Yes!"Mikan bows down her head and brings her curled fists closer to her face. If Hiyoko was a bit taller, they'd bump their heads.

"Well, I'll be going home." Sonia starts off and waves."Goodbye, everyone."

"G-Goodbye, Miss Sonia~!" Kazuichi jumps in front of everyone and send big waving motions to Sonia, that smiles back. When she's out of sight, Kazuichi literally melts and becomes a puddle of Soda.(get the joke? No? Okay, imma just...gonna go in that dark corner over there...Forgive me (╯n╰))

I facepalm.

"We should all follow Sonia's-" Peko starts.

"Do you mean we'll be goign at her place and all?!"Kazuichi comes back into his normal form and excitedly jumps next to Peko, starts forming in his pink eyes. I always wondered if they were natural or not. As well as his hair and his teeth. After all,we're in Japan,in Hope's Peak even. What won't you meet at Hope's Peak Academy, in Japan?

Peko deadpans, if her face wasn't already serious enough. Fuyuhiko suddenly cuts in between Peko and Kazuichi, who he thinks the latter stands too close to Peko.

Those two are always stuck together, even for group works. There's definitely something going on between the two, or they know each other since long ago. Or maybe both, that's also a possibility.

Fuyuhiko digs his arm between Peko's and Kazuichi's and pulls them away from each other, he more like pushes Kazuichi away from Peko, who stays stiff and doesn't say or do a thing.

"Oooh~?"Ibuki jumps in, her mouth forming a perfectly circular 'o'. She then starts wiggling her eyebrows with a smug smile across her face. I didn't know she was able of this."Jealous pretty much?"

"Oh, you sh-shut up!"Fuyuhiko slams his palm against her cheek and pushes her out of the way as hard as possible.

"Um..."Peko has no idea what to say or do anymore.

"I think what Pekoyama meant was, we should all head home." Koizumi helps out, in case no one understood yet. I only nod and uncross my arms. "Yes, so I'll be going too. Goodbye, everyone." I walk off. I swear I heard a childish voice yell "See ya, Mr. Ham Hands!"

* * *

 

I arrive home and I unlock my front door. I step in my doorstep and take off my shoes before aiming for my room. I pass by the kitchen and pick up a pack of chips, then continue to make my way to my bedroom. When I unlock the door, my face, mood and the pack of chips drops.

On my desk are several empty packs of food, as well as it's loaded with lots of drawing materials, for animations, that is. On the chair sits a small boy, with the same hair and face as me. Except he has enormous bags and dark circles under his eyes and he looks so skinny. I am daily surrounded by skinny people, but this one is on the verge of being a walking skeleton. Does he even eat well? I suppose not.

Bt that's not the matter. Who is this, and what is this stranger doing in my room?

Then, when I think about it, we look pretty alike. Are we perhaps brothers or twins? Wouldn't I remember him if it were the case?

The boy on the chair turns and faces me with his dry face. When he discovers me, he forces a tired smile on his features."Ah, hi there, you. I mean, me."

I'm suddenly hit with confusion.

_What?_

The boy doesn't pay it any attention and simply goes back to his animation." I slept three hours straight this night. I'm making progressions, too."he then lets out a dry laugh, followed by a bit of coughing. Without even thinking, I reach out in my bag for a bottle of mineral water and gives it to the way too skinny boy. He weakly smiles and thanks me. I only nod back and quietly watches him gulp down the whole bottle as if he didn't get to drink in weeks.

_What is my relation with him? I wonder._ Somehow, I'm having a hard time believing we're relatives. But then again, if we're not, why do we look so much alike? And I can't casually ask him about it, it'd be suspicious.

"Hey,"the living zombie sitting at my desk turns on my chair to face me with the same weak smile from earlier."How was school today?"

I don't immediatly give him an answer. I blink at him a few times, until I completely register his question in my brain, before I get to answer him. "It was good, like usual. I suppose." I reply. "What about you?"

"Oh,me..." he starts, turning back towards his Wacom tablet, he continues to work on his colours. "The usual,eh. I got to finish the first thirthy minutes of my project."he answers, his smile growing wider, but more tired and desperate as well. I freeze. _He doesn't go to school? He spends his days and probably nights as well drawing...? That poor guy will get in trouble if he keeps up like that..._

What he says afterwards misses to cause my mind to blow.

"As long as you go to school I can work on my 'Animation of Hope'." He sighs in relief, still keeping that smile on his features. My eyes fly wide open of surprise and I uncousciously drop my jaw.

_What the hell is he saying? I don't get the link..._

"...What?" I uncousciously whisper, rather loudly I can tell from the look the boy gives me. He raises an eyebrow, and even his smile that he managed to keep on has dissapeared. "Don't tell me you already forgot why you're being me, did you?"

Again, I somehow manage to not fall on my buttocks out of confusion. _I-I'm what...?!_

I grab onto my tie and gaze directly onto the boy's tired eyes, trying to steady my breath. His eyes look deadserious and obviously tired, but they seem almost dead. I ferl a sudden strange feeling fling inside me.

_But then, that feeling of this morning-_

"Say," I speak up with my voice being surprisingly quivering. The boy blinks and keeps his eyes on me. "Can I ask you something?" He doesn't speak up, only makes a nodding sound. "Who are you? I mean, what's your name?" I finally get to ask.

 

The boy blinks before his lips hesitantly part from each other. I keep my gaze fixed into his eyes, I want to be sure to ot be lied to. Even if I seem to live with him, I can't trust him if I don't know his name at least. Without any hesitation or emotion displayed on his face, he neutrally answers. "I'm Mitarai Ryota, the Ultimate Animator."

_I knew it._

"But then," I start, keeping my feelings inside, but clenching my fists tightly. "Who am I...?"

'Ryota' rolls his eyes away from me and stares at the floor as he bites his lower lip. He lets out a hesitant humming and forces himself to not look at me. I know he feels my stare harden when I notice his expression wrinkle a bit. _I wonder why he can't tell me...?_

"Ryota-" I mumble out. Before I can end my statement, a piercing sound resonates through the small bedroom and almost pierces my eardrums. I duck down and somehow get under the bed, when I slightly open my eyes to check on what's happening, I can only see smoke.

_Wait, smoke?_

I slip out of my 'hiding spot' and glues a hand on my nose and mouth. I try to get through the smoke and I somehow reach the desk, but I can't clearly see it yet. I have no other choice than to wait for the smoke to disperse a bit. In the meantime, I uselessly fan the air, as if it'd help. When I assume myself how useless I am being, I hold my hand stretched out and pats around a bit in search for Ryota. When my hand lands on his shoulder, the view is already a bit cleared.

That's when I realise I just laid my hand on the shoulder of the corpse of a boy whom I stole his identity and that I met just a moment ago.

Ryota's upper body lays lifeless on the desk with his materials still scattered around and some even in his hands. His head is turned around. His forehead is pierced and blood is dripping down from it, causing his hair to turn a bit reddish and his head to swim in his own liquid.

I immediatly turn around towards the window that's open ever since I arrived home. And to my surprise, there stands a figure I recognise too good.

Dark hair.

A dark schoolsuit with a recognisable crest on it.

Red piercing eyes.

An unique _bored_ expression that only _he_ can pull off.

My eyes immediatly fall over to his hand pointing out at me in a gun form. I grit my teeth and let go of Ryota's shoulder. _Shit_.

I quickly approach the window, and the man takes his distances as expected from him. I jump out the window without even thinking, and oh how am I not thankful I wasn't high at all. The level of the room, I mean.

I know what he's trying to do. I know he's luring me somewhere, maybe to where the others are. I still decide to follow him, I can't let him go like this after have shot down Ryota. Even though I just met him, I can't let his death be like this, I have to go after him.

I keep running behind him without having any idea of where he's taking me, in hope I somehow will get to him and catch him. We pass through crowded places as well as abandonned like places, and strangely not much people give us weird looks. Mostmy because he takes the opportunity to shoot down everyone in his way. With his hand that is.

After a while of running, I start to feel a bit weaker and my breath starts being irregular, so are my steps that aren't syncronised with the demands my brain is giving my body. I stop running in need to catch my breath, I keep myself up as I slam my hands on my knees and try to steady my breathing patterns. He keeps running, more like floating actually, until he turns around and notices I can't keep up with him anymore.

I start to regret to have chosen to have conveniently stopped in front of this building.

I carefully open my eyes once I get to breathe better. And at my feet lays something strange enough that catches my attention. A leg. A bare leg. My eyes automatically follow the leg up to the brownish skirt, up to her originally white buttoned up shirt, that doesn't really look all white anymore, and finally my eyes reach her face. Even if it's half covered by her long bangs, the silver piercings under her lips are still visible. And even if they weren't, it'd be easy to recognise her with her stylish and colourful haircut.

Next to me lays a deceased Mioda Ibuki.

I straighten my composure and start frantically looking around.

Koizumi Mahiru; dead from a shot to her heart. Next to her is Sayonji Hiyoko facing the floor, I can't tell where she got shot.

Not too far from them are Tsumiki Mikan and Komaeda Nagito dead from a shot in their head.

Soda, Teruteru and Akane too.

Gundham, Nekomaru and Peko are laying together a bit further, they are the most injured ones.

Fuyuhiko's corpse was carelessly thrown above Chiaki's.

Held things short, I'm surrounded by the lifeless bodies and remains of my classmates. I can't escape.

Still immobile since earlier, he's still lightly floating above the ground on the same spot. I'm about to speak when I feel something hitting my foot. Rather curious, I swallow in my words and look down, only to end up staring at a gun. I look up at him again and tighten my fists.

"What are you doing, Kamukura?" I frown and grit my teeth at him. I weakly kick the gun away when I take a step forward. "What are you trying to achieve?"

Izuru watches the gun fly away from my feet as if he was watching a stray cat pass by. He keeps staring at it for what feels like a long, long five minutes. I can't do much but stare at him and wait until he answers my questions. After a while of staring, he auto snaps out of it and looks up at me again. His mouth opens very slowly.

"Me?" He breathes out, barely audibly. "...I'm here to destroy this world." He finally answers.

_What the-_

"And please, do not call me by that name anymore. For now, I'd like to be recognised as this world's 'Destroyer'." He quickly adds, suddenly raising his hand in my direction. "To fulfill my task, you have to dissapear. From your own will or by my hands, it doesn't matter much."

I frown even more and take a defensive position. _What is this nonsense even about...?_

My eyes divert from his figure and land on the small gun that's still at reach for me. But I still hesitate to pick it up.

_My friends...died in vain. I hardly can accept this._

My eyes meet his when I crouch down and reach for the gun. I clasp it tightly between my two clammy hands and keep it close to my chest, as if to protect it. Now I get a good look, his hands have taken the shape of a gun. Is he taking this so seriously? Of course, we're talking about Kamuruka here. I roll my eyes down to the gun.

_But I don't understand... He is the symbol of Hope, isn't he? So why is he enjoying this killing? Is he even enjoying it or was he forced?_

I run my five finger on the metallic fabric of the gun and I close my eyes.

_Does that mean that we're all the evil in this story?_

I hold it up with one hand, directed at him. I reopen my eyes that burn with determination and confidence. My gaze doesn't leave his.

_In any case, I'm going to survive for my classmates._

I pull on the trigger. Two loud 'bangs' echo in the area.

_Class 77-B will remain..._

Everything goes black.  
Then suddenly white.

I appear in a white, cold and empty room. After a really short moment of loneliness, Izuru appears in front of me. Though his haircut is different.

He resembles a lot someone I can't put my finger on their name.

He stares at me in silence.

I stare back, and wait for him to say anything.

After a while of silence, I take notice of my outfit. _When did it change,_ I wonder. That silence starts to be a bit unbearable, so I speak up the first obvious question that pops up in my head. "Where are we now?"

He blinks then slowly opens his mouth. "The Neo World Program." is all he answers.

I raise a confused eyebrow at him. "Neo World Program?"

He sighs and drops his hands in his pockets. "You and your eleven other classmates were tested on with the Neo World Program. This program was created for eradicating the despair that was inflicted on your whole class by Junko." he shortly summarises.

_Ah, yes. Junko, the Ultimate Despairs... I forgot about all that..._

"Then that means all of this happened in my head?" I question, pointing to my forehead.

He nods. "The program succesfully performed the data containing your psyche after your death in the program. However, the traumatic circumstances of your death seemed to have caused for some instabilities. As instance, the oversight of your real identity."

I chuckle a bit. "I still don't know my real identity, by the way."

"Nor did we ever know either. We never got to collect any information concerning your basic informations."

"We?"

He nods. "I am an AI that was created by a specific company. I am able to performs psychodives." he raises up a hand. "Don't worry, I am not an ennemy, if that's your fear."

I deepen my frown. Sure, we were both Ultimate Despairs as Junko's pawns, but that's the past. Now, I'm on the side of hope. And even so, his words completely contradict his previous words. I take a more defencive stance, just in case. "Then how do you explain your genocide from earlier? You even wished to kill me."

"That is because this was the only way to wake you up from this world: the destruction from this same world." He explains with his usual calm tone.

"I see..." I mutter. My head lowers and my eyes land on the palm of my bare and dirty hands. "So this really was only a dream, huh..." I quietly mutter, though I think Izuru still hears me. I raise my head again and faces him with a determined look. "What about my classmates?"

Izuru keeps quiet for a moment. He closes his eyes when he opens his mouth to give me an answer. "Everything was nothing more than a mere illusion. Though the most fitting word in this case would be an 'Alternate Universe' or if you prefer, a 'What if' situation." He reopens his crimson eyes that look directly into his eyes now hid behind blue coloured contacts. "But most of them do still exist in real life."

"Most of them?" I repeat in curiousity. Izuru remains silent and doesn't seem to be willing to answer. "And for what concerns Junko? Is she still alive?"

And what I thought was impossible actually happens.

Izuru smiles and shakes his head. "There's no traces left of her anymore." His smile immediatly dissapears. Well, that's to be expected. It's Izuru, after all. "But the chances you wake up as an Ultimate Despair are pretty big. But I'm sure you will be able to pull it off and keep sanity."

I nod.

He spreads his arms wide. "Unless you'd wish to keep on the safe route, where Junko and despair don't exist. Where life is beautiful." 

I shake my head no. "Life may be beautiful, but fake. I'm going for the adventurous and probably dangerous route." I smile. "Send me back to reality."

"Of course." he nods. "By the way, I'm not the Izuru you know in real life."

I furrow an eyebrow. "Then who are you?"

"You'll find out." is all he answers me. He then snaps his fingers. Next thing I know, I'm blinded by a strong light and I can feel my feet lift up from the floor.

"Rescue of the subject succesfully completed."

* * *

 

My whole body feels heavy, but the heaviest part of it are definitely my eyes. I can barely pull them open, and it normally asks so few effort. I can make my fingers barely twitch.

_Pshooo---_

I can feel a sudden breeze brush against my skin. It's cold, but refreshing to be honest. Somehow, it helps waking up my body that immediatly sits up in a comfortable and soft but way too narrow bed.

I gently rub my eyes to have it easier to open them afterwards. My eyes need a bit of time to adjust to my surroundings. Thankfully, it's not too bright nor is it too dark in here. What I can see is a small door moving in the distance. From the sound that follows, I suppose someone just closed it behind them.

I scratch my hair a bit as I continue looking around, getting more confused the more I keep looking. Before I even know it, I have pulled myself out of the spot I laid down a moment ago. When I turn around, I get to discover that all this time, I was asleep in a small pod. And I'm not the only one, but I'm the only one that's exited my pod.

Out of curiousity, I lean over and take a peek inside the pod next to mine. Inside it peacefully lays a pale looking girl with her mouth lightly agape. Her colourful hair covers most of her face, but it's possible to have a small notice of a row of silver piercings under her bottom lip. At first sight, you'd hardly tell she's still breathing since her neither her chest or stomach moves in coordination with her breaths, but I am pretty sure she's still breathing perfectly.

_That face, and those hair... Where and when did I see those before?_

I look up from the pod to lay my eyes on a row of multiple buttons and handles, aw well as mini screens. _And where did I even land?_

I turn my head towards the exit and silently gaze at the door. I clench my fist tight, with my other hand lying open on the green glass of the girl's pod. I let my hand slide down the pod and eventually fall off it and land at my side as I walk towards the door in a rather quick pace. My dominant hand lands on the doorknob, but it freezes and hesitates to pull the door open.

I shake my head, as if to clear my mind. _No need to hesitate. I want to know who and where I am._

With this thought, I grip tighter on the doorknob and forcefully pull it open.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Five

 

END

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God.  
> Finally.  
> I posted it early hahahaa( but I don't think it'll always be the case, surry buddies)
> 
> I thought this one was a hella difficult chapter to write because of my two weeks I spend without any wifi, wich means I couldn't do any proper researches about him. And I really needed to since he's the character we probably know the least about. That's what made this chapter difdicult to write, but I absolutely wanted to do it, due to Nagito's special episode of course ehehe.
> 
> Next chapter, he'll meet the five great survivors of the KST. How will it happen?
> 
> Into next chapta~~
> 
> BakaMatsuNo gone--- ヾ(ﾟ∀ﾟゞ)


	6. ×Sixth×

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ultimate Imposter wakes up and meets the fuve survivors of the Killing School Trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you'll like it and sorry for the long wait. :(
> 
> Check the note at the end for more info

**⚠ Since the ultimate imposter hasn't a real identity, I'll mostly refer to him as Imposter, the imposter, the ultimate imposter or Impostor-kun⚠**

* * *

 

The imposter lets the door close behind him on its own as his feet land in an unknown space. He curiously lets his eyes scan every little croon and corner of the room he is at. Without knowing it, he's looking around with squinted eyes and his mouth slightly agape. Hesitant, he turns left and takes small steps forwards, errupting from behind the red carpeted staircase. As he keeps walking around the welcoming space, he turns his head and diverts his eyes frantically. _This is... A lobby?_

His eyes land on transparent glass that shows off a strangely dark coloured sky. He turns on his heels and walks to the window. He drops his dominant hand on the glass and gazes at the odd coloured sky and the still cyan sea that's gently rocking itself. He uncousciously lets his hand slide down the window. _The sea... Or the ocean...?_ He turns his head away from the window and his eyes land on a big, thick door. He takes his hand off the window when he makes it to the door. With a bit of effort, he uses his own weight to push the door open, he doesn't feel exhausted, but he isn't full on energy either since he just woke up.

Just when the door flies open, a cold wind slaps his face and hair that's barely fluttering behind him due to their length. His eyes are still a bit squinted, but less than earlier. Again, he runs his eyes all over the scenery that's showing in front of him. With his mouth still barely open and his tired eyes and expression, he goes down the first stair and lets go of the doorknob, then the second stair and the remaining one as well. He takes slow steps, carefully listening to the faint sound of clicking shoes, unaware his shoes are causing this sound.

He abruptly stops at the very corner of the outside pool, the point of his shoes sticking out above the water a bit. With his hands left loosely hanging at his sides, he looks down and watches the wind making the water move a bit in the pool. His hair move with the wind as well. He blankly blinks at the pool. After a while of staring, he snaps himself out of it and walks away once again, looking a bit like a robot. In front of him are two rows of small, wooden cottages. He silently stares at them with a look saying he was judging them, somehow. He decides on turning right and takes a turn with a face showing determination, but it didn't have any meaning on his inner feelings.

He walks down the wooden path that's above, what he judges to be cold water and shoots every cottage he passes by a small look. He soon understands the similarities and differences between every cottage. In front of every cottage are small signs with barely readable numbers. And for a fragment of a second, he swears the sign shows a blurry picture of a person that he doesn't recognise, probably because he barely got a glimpse of that picture to even see any distinct details like the eye colour or type of hair.

He blinks his eyes in surprise, which then widen a bit. And all of a sudden, his head starts throbbing. He grits his teeth to hold back a groan and clasps a hand on his forehead. His eyes fixate the small sign, that now shows a range of illegible numbers and an image floods back in front of him.

First of all, his surroundings look different. He isn't standing outside anymore, but rather in a poorly lighted up place and surrounded by old wooden walls.There, in front of him stands a girl that looks like she's glaring daggers at him. A faint dust of pink is noticeable on her small cheeks. She relucantly stretches her arms in the air.

The identity of the girl in front of him isn't what intruigues him the most. It's mostly why in the world his hands are running all over her body. Worst is, he cannot take his hands away since it's only an image from his subconscious. Is he feeling her up? God, he hopes it's only a misunderstanding, even if it's more likely to not be seen how he's firmly grabbing and patting every inch of her slim body.

"Geez, is this really nessesary?" the girl complains. She uncousciously rub her knees together as she turns her head away, but keeps her eyes on him.

"Please don't misunderstand, ¥Π'mjzìõk2bn. Considering our situation, it is nessesary to be as cautious as possible. We cannot let our guard down." he automatically blurts out. More like he listens to his voice that doesn't sound too weird to his ears, but also too natural to sound recorded. His eyebrow frown at the blurry part that he suppose is replacing a name.

"Well, I suppose you're right." the girl sighs and drops her shoulders. "No matter how much I hate to admit it, we have no control of what will happen from now on and guarding down isn't a possibility anymore."

"Exactly." he replies, patting her stomach.

A kind smile appears on the girl's thin lips. "Though I'd be lying if I said I'm not reassured to have you be the captain of the group." she confesses. "Compared to those cowards, you seem to be more trustworthy and reliable." the girl silently glares at a certain pinkhead standing behind her in the queu. He's standing there, hands casually hidden in the pockets of his yellow jumpsuits.

"... I suppose I'm used on being leaned on, somehow." he quietly mumbles, his words are unaudible for the girl in front of him. He breathes out and fixes his glasses once he pulls his hands away from her figure. "Clear." he announces.

The girl tenses down and grabs the object hanging around her neck. "I can at least keep my camera, right?"

He nods with his arms crossed over his chest. "Of course. A party is supposed to be fun." he smiles, well more like tries to. With a small wave, the short haired girl goes past him and strotts away.

Imposter gently tugs at his small bangs as his teeth are still gritted. His eyes are a bit squinted because of how deep his frown is going. He stays immobile and waits for his head to hurt less.

_Who was that...? What was that...?_

He finally lets go and lets his hand fall down at his side. A heavy yawn escapes his lips when he straightens his composure.

_I believe I am tired..._

With wobbly legs and a still hazy view, The Imposter drags his feet away and gives up in front of a few cottages further from the first one he stood in front of. Conveniently, it happens to be the same in wich he rested in the simulation.

He literally leans on the door using his weight to push the door open. When it cracks open, he walks over to the bed, carefully closing the door behind him first. He collapses on the bed. It's a bit smelly, he has to admit. But he can take it in, as long as it's comfortable enough for a nap. A long nap, like he'd call it.

* * *

 

 

Kazuichi isn't used to a lot of sleep, but he can't deny how refreshing it feels to have enough sleep once in a while. Sure, he slept as much as the others in the simulation but again, it was only a simulation.

However, he had done a weird dream, more like a nightmare or better said a flashback. It was about something he partly was a bit glad to remember but the other side of him didn't want to remember those memories.

Hope's Peak Academy.

Class 77-B.

Junko.

Now he has time to think about it since there's no Monokuma announcment or even no Monokuma at all, it sounds pretty ridiculous how a single student younger than him and his classmates managed to create such a worldwide riot with only a few actions here and persuations there. Junko seemed at first your typical bubbly bimbo that puts 'like' in every sentence between every words. Honestly, he had expected the Ultimate Despair to be more...dark and unsensitive? A bit like Izuru, he can say.

The flashbacks were short, but clear. He remembered short shots from when the first murder occured in Hope Peak Academy's Reserve Course. Then there's a also that memory of when he and his classmates were locked up in a trial like room and were forced to watch a clip. However, what the clip was like, he has no memory of it yet.

Thinking about it a bit more, what is he still doing alive? Why did he even survive this sick game? As far as he remembers, he didn't do much 'heroic' things back in the simulation. Unlike Sonia who had more bravery than her and always helped during the class trials, Fuyuhiko who was always strong and literally forcing the others to be strong too after Peko's execution, Akane who was stubborn and stupid but brave enough to take it against Monokuma, knowing it'd probably cost her life or even like Hajime who somehow always helped a lot during the investigations and always found the right blackened.

They weren't scared to doubt the others. They weren't scared of Monokuma. They were strong. But he, what has he done besides whining like a kid or trembling like a leaf during the whole simulation? Yeah, he tampered with cameras and used Nekomaru's remains to build a toy for Akane. Waow, like that'd help a lot.

He just doesn't admit he was actually a great help, especially during their stay at the thirth island.

He just feels...weak. He starts to think about Mahiru's words that he often heard. "You're a guy, aren't you? Boys are supposed to protect and assure girls, so you better man up, got it?"

He sighs.

I wish I'd man up and grow some balls... He sits up in his bed and stretches out his arms. He then looks out the window, the sky's already clear and bringing clear colours outside. He suddenly frowns.

_Huh, the sky's not as blue as usual..._ He then sighs and shrugs. _Meh_.

He gets up from his bed and stretches out once again. He immediatly picks up his yellow jumpsuit that he left further away near the window. He slips into his clothes, feeling warm and secure again and wears his shoes. He then heads towards the exit of his cottage.

He lets the door close on its own behind him and breathes in with a smile and his hands put in his sides. He then breathes out a quiet "Haa..." He then sees Sonia exiting her cottage as well and he loudly stomps towards her, calling out her name as he waves his arm. "Hello, Miss Sonia~!"

Sonia lowers her head a bit before looking up at him again with a gentle smile. "Good morning, Kazuichi." Kazuichi swears he saw her cringe a bit before greeting him. But he doesn't pay it much attention. Right now, he has the opportunity to start a lovely conversation with the princess. He is not going to let this opportunity pass him by.

"I-I hope you slept well and enough. A princess should have enough sleep of quality." he randomly blurts out. _Is this the good choice of words? Is this even the good choice of topic?_ He innerly trembles but somehow manages to control himself in front of her.

Sonia doesn't answer immediatly and looks around, in hope for anyone to come and escape with them. But no one came, and running away like that would be ridiculous and rude as well. She decides to remain polite and answers his question. "Yes, I had a good night of sl-Huh?" she cuts herself mid sentence and suddenly backs away with her steps being bigger and bigger. Kazuichi doesn't notice her eyes looking right above his head and not directly at him and he sadly gets to judge her action too quickly due to her look and her hand clasped on her mouth and nose.

He starts panicking and cautiously pulls his jumpsuit closer to his nose. _D-Do I smell? Do I smell that b-bad...?_

"U-Uhm... M-Miss Sonia..." he carefully starts. She speaks up before the pink headed male can continue. "I-I'm very sorry, I am starving at the moment. L-Let us meet at the restaurant, yes?" with that said, she skips away towards the hotel and leaves him alone. Kazuichi simply follows her with his eyes, his hand desperately hanging in the air and his mouth hanging lightly open. "D-Do I really smell that bad? That's mean, Miss Sonia... When will you ever be kind to me, huh...?" he mouths desperately, then sighs and scratches his head. That's when he notices he's not wearing his benny over his messy hair.

He just shrugs it off, not really caring about covering his wild hair and pours his hands in the pockets of his jumpsuit, ready to walk away. His eyes suddenly fall on the ground, more specifically his shadow. _When did I become this fat? Oh, wait a second..._

He has felt a weird presence behind him since he exited his cottage, but he had just shrugged it off believing it was all in his mind and also because Miss Sonia conveniently stepped out her cottage as well, but...

He slowly turns his head to look over his shoulder, his teeth gritted and his hands curled into fists. He doesn't believe his eyes.

He lets out the most girly yell even possible for a male.

The four others soon arrive to his rescue, whatever the danger is. Sonia kind of managed to persuade them too.

For once since the simulation, Hajime arrives first. Akane, Sonia and Fuyuhiko are approaching at the same pace a bit further. Hajime doesn't move, just like Kazuichi who's frozen in fear. When the three others arrive, they stay immobile behind Hajime, except for Fuyuhiko who's standing right next to the ahoge boy.

"Is this...real? I-I'm not seeing things, right?" Hajime makes sure that he's not the only one seeing that, or rather him.

Sonia shakes her head frantically in fear, gripping at Fuyuhiko's shoulders and ducking behind him until they're both the same height. "N-N-No, I can also s-see this, didn't I tell you?"

"But how..." Fuyuhiko trails off, starting to have a sore neck from looking up at the person behind Kazuichi. "When..?" Suddenly, everyone looks straight at Kazuichi, who immediatly starts stuttering and wiggling his arms in all possible ways as he's trying to defend himself.

"I-I don't know anything! I'm barely done with my analysation, he shouldn't have woken up yet!"  
Everyone raises their eyebrows and the four others exchange a short look. Hajime frowns down and puts a hand to his chin in a very Kirigiri manner like. _Then how...?_

"I... I think I have a theory...!"Sonia suddenly raises her hand as if she asks for permission to the teacher to let her speak. Of course, the Ultimate Princess doesn't need to wait for any permission to continue. "What if...it's all Future Foundation's doing again?"

"Y-Yeah, it could be!" Kazuichi obviously agrees, also raising his hand in the air.

"I have my doubts..." Hajime mutters. "I mean, is it even possible?"

"Of course it is! They're our alllys, they'll help us out, won't they?" Sonia frowns at Hajime. Fuyuhiko cuts in.

"Don't you remember what they said in the simulation? The possibility to wake them up is near zero." he reminds them with his arms crossed. "The only to wake them up 'naturally' was to accept Junko's offer to take over their bodies."

Sonia hums a bit before replying with a calm "But... What if they eventually found a way to wake our friends up?"

_Friends, huh..._ Hajime repeats innerly.

The three others blink in surprise, considering the possibility. After all, Future Foundation is rich in technology, they'd be able to somehow find a way to wake them up from their comatoses. But considering how certain Makoto sounded when he said there was no way to wake them up, it's very likely that the possibility of Sonia's hypothesis being a fact is pretty small.

Meanwhile, Imposter doesn't budge a single inch. The five survivors turn all towards him.

"He's not moving..." Kazuichi manages to not stammer. "It's kinda scary..."

"Is he even breathing? I mean..." Hajime quietly comments. He wasn't supposed to share this thought.

"It may sound odd because of the way I will put it, but..." Sonia carefully trails off, looking away a micro second. "This is not how the 'Ultimate Imposter' we know acts. He is too calm and immobile."

"Yeah, you kinda right." Akane reacts.

"Sh-Should we try talk to it or...?" Kazuichi hesitates, Fuyuhiko cringes as he crosses his arms.

"You guys are really ridiculous, talking like that in front of him..." he sighs. "He has ears, you know?"

Sonia lightly turns her head towards him and shoots him a not so threatening glare that he doesn't even notice since she's still standing behind him. "Since you think it is rude, why don't you go and talk to him?"

"What?" Fuyuhiko frowns.

"Y-Yeah!" Kazuichi points out a finger directly at Fuyuhiko. "Since you're so confident and all...!"

"What the..." he trails off, the last part not coming out somehow. He suddenly gets pushed forwards by none other than the blonde that's behins him since they arrived after have heard Kazuichi's beautiful yell.

He turns around to look at the four others, yes even Kazuichi, who are giving him confident thumbs up. Fuyuhiko cringes at their behavior and to be fair, Hajime does too, but innerly. He still gives Fuyuhiko a thumbs up.

_Man, this scene looks like he's gonna confess or something..._ Hajime thinks. _And I absolutely don't ship those two. Never._ The single idea sends chills down his spine.

Fuyuhiko sighs and faces 'Twogami' with a forced smile, even the latter looks right through it. Fuyuhiko waves his hand at him and blurts out a small "Hey, there.", at loss of ideas. Everyone, he included, feel like facepalming. The Imposter only looks down at him due to the height diffference, with his thick arms crossed over his chest. He doesn't move a single muscle and doesn't even blink one single time.

Fuyuhiko grits his teeth. _Is he ignoring me? This fucker-_

After a while of silence, his heavy voice pierces through the silence. "Hello."

Fuyuhiko's smile trembles. _God, he sounds like a fucking robot...!_

Hajime grimaces at the scene playing before his eyes. _Oh my God, this is so awkward to watch..._

"Um..." Fuyuhiko trails off, unsure of what to say anymore. He's never had to have an improvised little chat like that. Usually, when he talks with people it always concerns something important, or the other makes the effort to approach him. But even for the Ultimate Yakuza, starting a normal conversation isn't an easy task, certainly not when it's with someone as quiet as The Ultimate Imposter. The only quiet person Fuyuhiko ever managed to sometimes discuss with is obviously Peko, but even then it wasn't so easy to start a conversation about trivial topics with his personal hitwoman-

_No, Peko isn't my hitwoman. She's my friend._

"How're you doing?" he speaks out with what seems a lot of effort. "Looking good, leader." he says, followed by an awkward laugh and a friendly punch on Imposter's biceps. The latter glares at the spot where Fuyuhiko hit him, then glares at the man himself.

_Shit, did I do too much?_

He clears his throat and maintains his deep frown. "Leader? And using such informal language with me..." he scoffs. "Excuse me, but I'm afraid you are mistaking me with someone else... Or maybe is this how teenagers greet strangers nowadays?"

"Strangers...? What are you- Wait a fucking second." Fuyuhiko cuts himself mid sentence and his neutral expression quickly changes to a face full of irritation. "DID YOU JUST-"

"Shit."Hajime and Kazuichi leap themselves towards the two males and get a tight grip on both Fuyuhiko's arms and eventually attempt to block his legs.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER, say that again, I _DARE_ YOU!" he tries to wiggle his way out of Hajime and Kazuichi's grip.

"Tch." The Imposter turns a bit away from the boys and looks up at the sky. "Commoners."

Fuyuhiko starts patting himself, much to both boys confusion. Fuyuhiko growls in annoyance. "Grr, where the fuck did I put it?"

With that single statement, Hajime understands what he's talking about and forces both boys to walk back. "Violence isn't the answer to everything, Fuyuhiko!" he tries to reason his friend but who is he kidding? He's talking to a yakuza, the Ultimate Yakuza nonetheless.

"He called me a freacking child, AND YOU WANT ME TO ACCEPT THAT _SHIT_!?"

"That doesn't mean shooting him down is the solution! Maybe talking it out will-"

"Cut that shit out, will ya!? I'm not freacking Nagito!"

Hajime stays silent.

"Wait, HE HAS A GUN?" Kazuichi exclaims after Hajime has shut up.

Sonia hurries to The Ultimate Imposter and attempts to take him further towards the hotel, wich doesn't seem successful first. Akana stays behind, admiring the scene playing in front of her and wondering about the fish swimming below the wooden bords.

Eventually, Sonia manages to leave with The Imposter and the two boy drop Fuyuhiko to the ground.

Kazuichi cracks his back. "Dude, you sure got some energy to spare. You're strong as hell...!"

Fuyuhiko glares at him. "What else were you expecting from a yakuza, you idjit?"

"I don't know, but yakuza usually fight with guns and all instead of with their fists, don't they?" Kazuichi scratches his cheek with a small smile.

"Hmm, depends." Fuyuhiko shortly answers.

"Depends?" both Hajime and Kazuichi raise an eyebrow and tilt their head.

"Too long to explain." Fuyuhiko sighs. "More importantly... He called us strangers, and whatsmore, he didn't understand the referencd when I called him leader." he clicks his tongue. "After that, he still dared call me a fucking adolescent. Fucking pest."

"It's true we didn't spend much time with him in the simulation, but he would at least remember have been our leader, right?" Kazuichi resones and taps his foot onto the wooden boards. "I mean, he proposed to take the place with its responcability, didn't he?"

Hajime puts a hand to his chin and stares at his feet, deep in thoughts. "Yeah, you're right."

"Hey," Akane approaches the boys while she's picking her ear. "What about memory loss? Maybe he doesn't remember us because he lost some part of his memory."

The boys stare at her with round eyes.

"Or maybe he's just playing stupid? Like he tried to trick us with his false identity last time?" she shrugs.

Fuyuhiko gets up with Hajime's help while Kazuichi drops his hands on Akane's shoulders with his eyes still as round as saucers and his mouth agape.

"Damn Akane."

"What?" she raises an eyebrow.

Kazuichi only smiles and pats her shoulders one time before letting go and turning towards the two other boys. The three boys exchange a look that only confuses her even more.

"Seriously, what?" Akane asks again, only to be ignored by the leaving boys. She easily shrugs it off and catches up to them in the restaurant. She passes by the hotel lobby just in case they'd be hanging out there.

When she arrives upstairs, the four other survivors are at one end of the restaurant while the Imposter stays at the other end of the restaurant, in front of them.

Sonia has a hand laid on her chest and wears a concerned expression. "Then, you really...do not remember anything about this place, about us?"

He frowns a bit, less than earlier. "Alas, I'm afraid so."

Fuyuhiko sighs in irritation and scratches the back of his head. "So we gotta do that introduction thing all over again, huh." he figures out. "What a pain."

Hajime has a determined look directed at the Imposter standing in front of him. Maybe we'll finally learn his real name...! He is the first one to approach him and hold out a hand to him. "My name's Hajime Hinata. Nice meeting you..."

The imposter stares at Hajime's hand and hesitates. He eventually accepts his hand and gives him a handshake.

"The name's Kazuichi Soda. Nice meeting you." he smiles, showing off his row of shark teeth.

"I am Nevermind Sonia. It is a pleasure to meet you." Sonia merely bows her head down.

"...... Kuzuryuu Fuyuhiko." he speaks monotonously with his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm 20 years old, you better not forget that."

"Um, yeah. I'm Owari Akane." she turns towards the others. "Why're we doing this again...?"

The others decide to ignore her. It's just for the best, they think.

"Hmph, well." he uncrosses his arms and looks straight at the five in front of him. "I'd like to introduce myself, but... I barely remember my identity."

"Wha- For real?" Kazuichi exclaims, sounding dissapointed. Well, he's not the only one dissapointed in the whole bunch.

"My apologies." he fixes his glasses. "I do know being called 'The Ultimate Imposter', but I can't provide you more information than this."

"Well..." Hajime scratches the back of his head and speaks within a sigh. "I suppose we'll have to do with that..."

"Actually..." the Imposter stares intensely at Hajime with squinted eyes. He carelessly takes a few small steps closer to the male, who looks at him a bit confused.

"H-Huh?" he simply watches him approach him, but doesn't try to step back or create any space between them.

"You look awfully familiar to me, but..." he trails off, unsure how to go on.

Oh. Hajime blinks in understandment and carefully opens his mouth. "..... Izuru, am I right?" he scratches his cheek.

The Imposter suddenly seems to have got interest in the plain ahoge boy and uncrosses his arms. "Do you know Kamukura Izuru? Are you two perhaps related?" he studies Hajime's face even more, making the latter feel a bit uneasy due to the attention turned to him. And it's not even the real him, but a hidden person hid in the deepest debts of his heart. "I never knew of Kamukura Izuru having any siblings, or any relatives for that matter."

Hajime searches for support from the others, that avoid his look as soon as he turns his head towards them. He sweatdrops and grimaces. Of very course.

He sighs and faces the Ultimate Imposter again. "Um, well, how do I put this..." he sounds uncomfortable, not that it contrasts his inner feeling. "I, um, kind of am... Izuru?"

'Twogami's' eyes flash wide open and he chokes out a small "Oh!" He clears his throat and looks straight into Hajime's bicoloured eyes. "I-Is that true? You are Kamukura Izuru?"

Hajime doesn't want to answer his question again. "Well, y-yes and n-Ack!"

To everyone's surprise, the Imposter grabs Hajime by his collar and drags him to his level. Even if there's not much height difference between the two men, Hajime's feet don't touch the floor anymore. He brings Hajime closer to his face, his calm facade that's now replaced by pure anger. Veins are literally popping out his skin and his eyes turn red.  "Now we get to meet in real life, explain me what all this is about! You said I'd find you again under another form and identity in this world, right? So this means you should still know about those events. It's still blurry and I'm getting weird memory flashes."

"W-What are you talking about?"

The Ultimate Imposter's frown deepens. "You had freed me from this program, the Neo World Program, and until then, my memory was perfectly fine. Now I barely remember my own identity and judging from how friendly you were adressing me, I guess I am supposed to know you. Alas, I don't remember any of your faces."

Hajime blinks in surprise and stares at the Imposter with lightly widened eyes. "... I-I did?"

"I knew it." Sonia snaps her fingers. "It is all Future Foundation's doing again, after all! It cannot be otherwise, unless Hajime can split himself."

Hajime sweatdrops at Sonia with a small smile. "... I definitely can't."

"Then it is as I suspected." Sonia nods her head, her eyes looking serious.

"But how'd they do that?" Akane raises a hand and an eyebrow as she tilrs her head in confusion. "You said Izuru is Hajime, right? So they'd need Hajime to be in the program."

Sonia opens her mouth, but Soda's voice comes up first.

"Not necessarily." Soda objects, he crosses his arms. "They could still create an AI similar to Izuru."  
Sonia glares at Kazuichi, who took the words right out of her mouth.

"An AI?" Akane questions.

Kazuichi nods. "Yeah, an Artificial Intelligence, like Junko and Chiaki were in the simulation." he shortly explains the gymnast.

"Junko..." the Ultimate Imposter mumbles to himself and slowly lets go of Hajime. He looks up at the ceiling and raises his eyebrows. His arms are left hanging at his sides as he breathes out "This name... It sounds familiar."

The five others exchange a short look, then all turn their whole attention on the Imposter. Fuyuhiko decides to be the first one to speak up and takes a step forward. "Junko, as in Junko Enoshima, right?"

He nods. "I've already heard that name before, but I can't associate a face with it." he explains in a calm tone. "I just know the name." he then turns towards the others with his neutral face. "Would you know anything about this so called Enoshima Junko? Would you care to help me regain at least a part of my memories?"

Hajime is totally ready to do this, and so seems Sonia. The others, he's not sure about it. Kazuichi never had any relationship or discussion with him for that matter, so Hajime supposes he can feel neutral about it as much as he's willing to refuse. Same for Akane, though both share a hobby they're both passionated about. For what concerns Fuyuhiko, Hajime figures he's not feeling up to help a guy that he barely knows anything of and that literally insulted him of being a teenager due to his height. And Hajime is probably the one to know the most about his height complex, even though it never seemed to be a secret, but he never openly admitted it. Although his lactose intolerence isn't helping him much out either.

Hajime doesn't care to consult with the others and takes a step forward with a determined face. Since his legs are longer than Fuyuhiko's, he stops closer to the Imposter than Fuyuhiko. He nods briefly and smiles. "We'll help you."

The Imposter lets out a glad "Hmph." and faints a smile, wich looks more like a smirk to the others but oh well. Not everyone is able to properly smile.

Hajime turns around to face his friends with a smile, only to find them all with not so convinced expressions. They look hesitant, and the single sight of it causes his smile to slowly become  
smaller. His brows frown a bit.

_What's wrong? Did I do or say something bad?_

He turns to fully face his friends with his expression matching theirs. "Is something wrong, guys?"

The group grumbles and all look down at their shoes. Even Akane hesitates and scratches her cheek like Kazuichi.

"Why're you all looking like this?" Hajime questions again.

"Dude," Kazuichi speaks up, loud and clear enough. "You do realise we don't know much more than him, right?"

Huh?

Realisation hits him.

_Oh shoot, I didn't think about that ._

He facepalms and sighs.

"He didn't even think that over..." Fuyuhiko sighs. "What happened to that guy that always thought about his words before speaking up?"

Hajime doesn't answer.

He groans after a moment of silence and passes a hand in his spiky hair. "I know we won't be able to do much, but we should be able to do something." he says. "I just want to help him and the others when they wake up. I also want to do something and not leave all the work to Makoto and the others."

The four others exchange a look. Sonia takes a step forward, both hands resting on her chest. "We are not saying this is a bad idea, Hajime. Please, do not misunderstand." she kindly breathes out. "It is just that we won't be able to do much. That is all. But I still agree on helping out."

"Do not worry." The Imposter assures. "The smallest information is good. And the smaller the amount, the better. It'll be easier to remember."

Hajime rubs the back of his neck with uneasiness obvious on his face and turns once more towards the four others who don't give him any reaction. He hesitantly takes another step forward, unsure how to start this. He didn't feel this lost even during his first investigation and during the whole first class trial too, maybe it has something to do about his other identity, an Ultimate Despair?

He sheepishly smiles and slowly opens his mouth to speak, even though he's not sure of what to say. But he has no choice but be the one doing it since he's the one that agreed on helping him, not that the others are completely opposing his idea, but...

"So..." he trails off. "What is it you don't remember...?"

He hears someone facepalm themselve behind him, but he obviously can't tell who. Though he can clearly hear Fuyuhiko mumble something under his breath, he can't make out his words.

However, the Imposter doesn't make any comment and simply stares at his surroundings. He lets out a long "Hmm..." as he looks around him and eventually at his attire.

"For instance, I don't remember have ever changed in this attire. Who am I supposed to be, clad like this?" he asks with a calm tone.

"But you're Twogami." Akane says matter of factly.

He furrows his brows. "...Twogami?"

"Yeah, you made yourself pass as Byakuya Togami during the simulation."

"Togami Byakuya..." he whispers to himself in wonder. He suddenly starts shaking his head in denial. "No, I think you are mistaken. This is not the identity I remember have stolen."

" _Ah, hi there, you. I mean, me."_  
An image of Ryota's immobile corpse lengthened on his desk and his head swimming in his own crimson liquid suddenly pops up in his mind. He shakes that image off his mind, he doesn't want to be reminded of such death, even if it ended up being nothing more but his own imagination.

All five give him a confused and curious look.

"All of you surely must know about the Ultimate Animator, Mitarai Ryota."

The five survivors all exchange a confused look and face him again.

"Should we know about him?" Sonia asks him.

"Well, I- I mean he, was your classmate." he answers with a neutral tone.

"Classmate?" Kazuichi and Akane speak up in sync. One scratching her hair, the other kind of grimacing.

_Classmate...?_ Hajime merely drops his head and takes enough steps back until he's in a neat row next to the four others. It's obvious he feels a bit left out since he doesn't feel concerned about this.

He was only a Reserve Course student after all, right?

Fuyuhiko blinks in surprise when he realises something and almost throws himself at the Ultimate Imposter. He plans on grabbing him by his collar, but sadly his tummy blocks the way. Instead, he pulls him towards him with his coat.

"If I tell you Hope's Peak Academy and Enoshima Junko, do those words ring a bell?" he asks between gritted teeth and glares intensely at him.

The Imposter doesn't budge under his glare and neutrally answers his question with a short nod. "Yes. Hope's Peak is the school we all attended, and Enoshima Junko was a student there too, a year or two younger than us all I think."

"She wasn't some ordinary student there, right?" Fuyuhiko asks normally, still sounding a bit threatening but not between gritted teeth anymore.

The Imposter stays silent for a short moment, then sighs. "You are right. She claimed being the Ultimate Fashionista, but her true identity was being the Ultimate Despair." he answers. "She was the cause of this worldwide riot and we, class 77-B, were her first victims and subordinates."

"Hmm." Fuyuhiko deepens his frown and his lips tremble. He first hesitates to ask about it, but he decides to go for it anyway. To his surprise, his voice sounds quieter and less agressive than usual. "And about that murder in Hope's Peak Academy's Reserve Course... Do you know anything about it?"

"I don't know the details about this incident, but I have heard about it." he answers.

Fuyuhiko stares into his eyes in silence, then finally decides to let go of him. He immediatly hides his hands in his pockets and joins the others in the row, not turning his back at him or blinking away once.

Hajime puts a hand to his chin and frowns down at his own feet. _So he does remember about the events that happened before we were all turned into Junko's pawns?_

Hajime suddenly smiles and takes out a chair. He makes himself confortable on it and gets weird looks from the four others.

"Hajime?" Sonia questions, a brow raised.

"Ultimate Imposter." He ignores Sonia and calls out to the man stainding in front of him. "Would you mind telling us everything that happened before you were turned into Ultimate Despairs? How did all this happen, I mean."

"Like I said, my memory is a bit blurry at the moment, so I won't be able to tell you much."

"It's fine. Just tell us as much as you remember." he smiles.

The four look a bit curious of the outcome and decide to take a seat near Hajime. Imposter hmms for a while, then does the same as the five others.

"Fine." he breaths out. "I will tell you as much as I know. About how we became Ultimate Despairs and how we survived this."

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER SIX

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked that chapter, I really have it hard to write about him because we barely know anything about him. I hope he's not too off character in this chapter of this fanfic in general. Feel free to tell me your thoughts about it :)  
> Btw, all what he's going to tell is all what happened in DR3 Despair Arc from episode 1 to 10 (because I still can't watch the other episodes for some reason)
> 
> See you in the next chapter


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